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The leadership of the jail N 16 refuses to send a letter of the journalist Afgan Mukhtarly addressed to Justice Minister Fikret Mammadov. In his letter, the journalist asks to give the opportunity to talk with his family via video link and chat with the child, reported the wife of a journalist Leyla Mustafayeva, who is in political emigration in Europe. The administration of the jail is blocking his letter, Mukhtarly told his wife during a telephone conversation. “The legislation does not provide for contacts of prisoners with family members via Skype.” However, this is not prohibited by law,” said Mustafayeva. According to her, their 5-year-old daughter misses her father very much and her psychological state worsens. Since March, she receives psychotherapy. The girl is tired of talking with her father only on the phone and wants to see him. “The Justice Ministry must clarify the question of why the jail authorities prohibit sending letters. We must not stoop to depriving political prisoners of the opportunity to communicate with young children,” Mustafayeva said. Colleagues of the journalist reported that at present he was having health problems. In addition to diabetes and blood pressure, he suffers from back pain and a severe cold.
* On May 29, 2018, the investigative journalist Afgan Mukhtarly was abducted in Tbilisi and secretly transferred to Azerbaijan, where he was arrested on charges of smuggling, illegally crossing the border and using violence against a border guard and sentenced to 6 years in prison. The arrest of the journalist was condemned by international organizations, including the European Parliament. Amnesty İnternational recognized him as a “prisoner of conscience”.
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