The objective of the talks, which took place on 31 May and 1 June 2018, was to discuss the state of co-operation between the CPT and the Azerbaijani authorities and, in particular, the implementation of the CPT’s long-standing recommendations concerning law enforcement agencies and prisons, including those made in the report on the CPT’s October 2017 ad hoc visit. The talks were also an opportunity to discuss in depth the investigations into several complaints of torture and other forms of ill-treatment by law enforcement officials, which the CPT has become aware of in the period between its 2015 and 2017 ad hoc visits. The CPT representatives were able to discuss these cases with prosecutors and investigators directly in charge of each of them. The Azerbaijani authorities also informed the CPT about further progress in the implementation of the Executive Order by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, dated 10 February 2017, “On improvement of operation of the prison system, humanisation of criminal policies and extension of application of alternative sanctions and non-custodial preventive measures”.

The CPT’s representatives were Mykola GNATOVSKYY (President of the CPT) and Marzena KSEL (1st Vice-President of the CPT), accompanied by Jeroen SCHOKKENBROEK (Executive Secretary of the CPT) and Borys WÓDZ (Head of Division at the CPT’s Secretariat).

They met Ramil USUBOV, Minister of Internal Affairs, Fikrat MAMMADOV, Minister of Justice, and Rustam USUBOV, First Deputy Prosecutor General. Further, a meeting was held with Fuad ALESKEROV, Head of Department for Work with Law Enforcement Bodies and Military Issues of the Administration of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. All the above-mentioned meetings were also attended by senior officials from the respective Ministries and other bodies.