Religious prisoner Amil Yusifov punished over call to prayer

An Azerbaijani religious prisoner has been placed in solitary confinement for reciting the Islamic call to prayer in his cell, his family has said.

Amil Yusifov, who is serving a five-and-a-half-year sentence, was transferred to a disciplinary cell at Penal Facility No. 12, according to his wife, Turkan Yusifova.

Yusifova said the prison director, Javid Safarov, confirmed the punishment was for a disciplinary violation after Yusifov recited the adhan.

"He recited the call to prayer for himself within four walls," Yusifova said. "Who outside could hear him? Does the sound travel outside those four walls?"

She added that prison authorities had also blocked her husband from making his scheduled phone calls to his family.

The punishment follows a previous disciplinary action in which Yusifov was transferred to a maximum-security closed facility for one year.

Yusifova said this transfer was triggered after her husband protested against a visit to Azerbaijan by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while Yusifov was held at Penal Facility No. 7.

According to Yusifova, an official identified as Anar — a deputy to the deputy head of the state penitentiary service, Fikrat Gafarov — questioned why her husband was interfering in international diplomacy.

"Anar told me himself: why was Amil protesting against Netanyahu?" Yusifova said. "He said he should not get involved in political matters. I told him they were holding him because of his beliefs."

Yusifov was arrested on 31 January 2024 and charged with the illegal acquisition and possession of a large quantity of narcotics with intent to sell under Article 234.4.3 of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code.

On 6 May 2024, the Ganja Grave Crimes Court sentenced him to five years and six months in prison.

Local and international human rights organisations have frequently accused the Azerbaijani authorities of using fabricated drug charges to arrest and silence religious activists and political dissidents.

The government in Baku has consistently denied these allegations, maintaining that prisoners are prosecuted only for specific criminal offences.