Ogtay Gulaliyev

Who is Ogtay Gulaliyev?

Ogtay Gulaliyev is an Azerbaijani human rights activist. His organization, Kur Civic Society, provides assistance for people affected by environmental disasters.

In April 2012, he was arrested during a meeting in Sabirabad Rayon. Initially charged with "swearing in a public place", the charges were later upgraded to "active resistance to authorities' legal orders" and "incitement to mass riots and to violence against citizens". Gulaliyev later stated that while in custody, he was beaten by police officers. On 2 May, a prison doctor recommended surgery for a problem with Gulaliyev's intestines; when Gulaliyev requested that his personal doctor be allowed to be present, prison officials refused permission for the surgery.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe called his case "arbitrary detention and judicial harassment". The International Federation for Human Rights and World Organisation Against Torture began a letter-writing campaign on his behalf, calling on authorities to immediately release Gulaliyev and impartially investigate his allegations of torture. Front Line Defenders also condemned the charges against him. Amnesty International designated him a prisoner of conscience, "targeted in response to his work as a human rights defender". Human Rights Watch dismissed the charges against him as "spurious".