The claims of Esmaeil Baqaei, the spokesperson of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), regarding alleged mistreatment of Iranian-origin prisoners in Azerbaijan are baseless, Azerbaijan's MFA Spokesperson Aykhan Hajizada said in a commentary regarding his Iranian counterpart's claims about Iranian citizens detained in Azerbaijan, SİA informs.
Hajizada noted that in accordance with the provisions of the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, information about all detained and arrested citizens of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Azerbaijan has been officially provided to the Iranian side:
"The rights, legitimate interests, and personal security of convicted and detained persons who are citizens of Iran and held in the penitentiary institutions of Azerbaijan's Ministry of Justice are protected, and they are provided with necessary material and living conditions.
In accordance with the requirements of current legislation, convicted and detained persons have the right to make phone calls, receive parcels, meet with family members, and talk on the phone. In some penitentiary institutions, prisoners who are citizens of the Islamic Republic of Iran have been given the opportunity to have video meetings with family members.
Detained foreigners, including citizens of the Islamic Republic of Iran, regularly undergo examinations in the medical-sanitary department. In addition, medications brought by employees of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Republic of Azerbaijan for their citizens have been accepted by medical service staff in accordance with the requirements of normative acts and delivered to the convicts."
Hajizada emphasized that in 2025 alone, conditions were created for consular meetings between the Iranian embassy staff and 37 citizens of the Islamic Republic of Iran serving sentences in Azerbaijan's penitentiary institutions. Most recently, such a meeting took place with two Iranian citizens on July 31.
"The Iranian side is well aware that the Azerbaijani side has also shown humanitarianism regarding a number of Iranian citizens. By the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated May 26, 2025, on pardoning certain convicted persons, 5 Iranian citizens were pardoned.
Despite these measures, information about most of our citizens detained and imprisoned in the Islamic Republic of Iran is not provided to the diplomatic missions of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the Islamic Republic of Iran. In most cases, our citizens are not allowed to meet with diplomatic missions of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the Islamic Republic of Iran and family members, establish telephone contact, or submit applications to serve the remaining part of their sentence in the Republic of Azerbaijan in accordance with the provisions of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the Transfer of Convicted Persons Deprived of Liberty for Serving Sentences signed in Baku on February 21, 1998.
At the same time, despite inquiries, the Azerbaijani side is not informed about court hearings held in the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding cases of citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan, or about decisions made during those hearings.
Our country has always advocated discussing such issues without politicization, on a bilateral level, through diplomatic channels. Along with other issues, negotiations in this direction were conducted during the next consular consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran held in Tehran on April 15, 2025," Aykhan Hajizada said.
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