Guidance

Information on legal and detention systems in Azerbaijan for British nationals abroad

Updated 21 February 2024

Chapter 1: Key points

Overview

If you are a British national, and are arrested or detained in another country, consular staff will do what they can to help you. However, we cannot interfere with the local justice system, get you out of jail, or pay for services such as a lawyer. Information about who we can help, including the circumstances in which we can assist dual nationals, is available at: Support for British nationals abroad. You can also request a paper copy from consular staff.

This information pack aims to give you, and your family and friends, information about the local system in Azerbaijan and who can help. Consular staff can provide a printed copy to those in prison or in custody. We welcome feedback to help us improve the information we provide to others.

Contacting us 

If you are arrested or detained in Azerbaijan:

• the authorities should ask whether you want them to contact the British embassy in Baku (and must do so if you want them to)

• if they do not ask, you can make the request yourself. You should do this if you are charged with a serious offence or need any kind of assistance

• friends or family can also contact the British embassy Baku, or the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) in London on +44 (0)20 7008 5000

In Azerbaijan, the authorities will notify the British embassy even if you do not want anyone to know that you have been arrested.

Dual UK-Azerbaijan nationality is not recognised in Azerbaijan. If you also hold an Azerbaijani passport, Azerbaijan authorities will treat you as an Azerbaijani national and are unlikely to grant us consular access to you.

Who we are

Consular staff work in the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office in the UK, and in British embassies, high commissions and consulates overseas.

British Embassy Baku

45 Khagani Street 
AZ1010 
Baku 
Azerbaijan

Telephone +994 (12)4377878 (Option 1 for English, then Option 2 for Consular), (including out of hours assistance)

Contact us online

You can also contact us by phone 24/7 for help or advice from anywhere in the world by calling the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office on +44 (0)20 7008 5000.

What we can do

The FCDO can offer you impartial and non-judgemental help. When we are notified of your arrest or detention, we will aim to contact you as soon as possible, so that we can assess how we can help you. We then aim to provide assistance according to your individual circumstances and local conditions. Our priority is to provide assistance to those British nationals overseas that need our help the most.

In Azerbaijan, notification to the Embassy normally takes place several weeks after arrest by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We may be informed quicker by your friends or relations.

Once we are notified, we aim to contact you as soon as possible.

We can also:

• provide a list of local English-speaking lawyers and interpreters

• provide general information about the country, detention conditions, and the local legal system (including if legal aid is available)

• provide general information about the local prison or remand system, including visiting arrangements, mail and censorship, privileges, and welfare services

• keep in regular contact with you, either by visiting or by telephone/letter. The frequency of contact will depend on local conditions and your personal circumstances

• tell the police or prison doctor, with your permission, about any medical or dental problems including medication

• put you, or your family, in touch with a prisoners’ welfare charity called Prisoners Abroad

• in some circumstances we may be able to help take up complaints with the police or prison authorities about ill treatment, personal safety, or discrimination, if you are not treated in line with internationally recognised standards

• help to transfer money to you from your friends or family. In places where phone or postal services are not available, we can also try to pass on messages and deliver letters to the prison (but generally we cannot arrange for delivery directly to you)

• in some circumstances we may be able to help you apply for a transfer to a prison in the UK

What we cannot do

• get you out of prison or detention

• help you get special treatment because you are British

• offer legal advice, start legal proceedings or investigate a crime

• pay for any costs because you have been arrested

• forward you packages sent by friends or family

• prevent authorities from deporting you after release

First steps: informing family members

If you want us to, we can tell your family or friends that you have been detained and provide them with information about how to contact you. With your consent, we can also keep them updated on your wellbeing.

If you are not sure about informing your family, we can help you consider what the impact of not doing so might be. For example, it may cause them distress if they do not know where you are or cannot contact you. It can also be a disadvantage to you if you need someone to send you money or act on your behalf while you are detained.

Informing the UK police

If you are accused of certain serious offences, such as sexual assault or drugs trafficking, we are obliged to share information about your arrest with UK police. Information about this may appear if a Criminal Records Bureau check were carried out by a prospective employer. There may be other circumstances when information about you may need to be shared with authorities in Azerbaijan.

Legal assistance: lawyers

We cannot give legal advice, start legal proceedings, or investigate a crime. However, we can provide information about the local legal system, including whether a legal aid scheme is available. We can also give you list of local English-speaking lawyers and interpreters. You should consider the benefits of local legal representation and discuss all the costs beforehand with the legal representative. We cannot pay your legal or interpretation costs in any circumstance.

Consular assistance: fair treatment

We cannot get you out of prison or detention or get you special treatment because you are British. If you are not treated in line with internationally accepted standards, we will consider whether to approach the local authorities. This may include if your trial does not follow internationally recognised standards or is unreasonably delayed compared to local cases.

Other organisations that can provide assistance

We can put you, or your family, in touch with Prisoners Abroad, a UK charity which supports British citizens detained overseas and their families.

Chapter 2: Detention conditions in Azerbaijan

Visits: friends and family

Who can visit and how to arrange visits

You should consult FCDO travel advice before you travel to Azerbaijan for the latest information on safety and security, entry requirements and travel warnings.

You have the right to meet with your relatives, lawyers and other people. We advise family members to contact us well in advance so that we can inform the prison governor and work on the visiting programme. Consular officers will accompany your family during their first visit to the prison. Subsequent visits by your family will be unaccompanied.

You will need to provide the prison with the names of the people visiting you so they can be added to the prison visiting list. We will provide information on visiting procedures and details of what visitors can bring should your family members decide to come to Azerbaijan.

There are two types of visit:

• short term (up to 4 hours)

• long term (1 to 3 days)

Short-term meetings are allowed with relatives (and other people) on prison grounds and under the supervision of prison staff.

Long-term visits are only with close family members and

usually take place in visits separate rooms in the prison grounds.

Based on a medical opinion of a doctor, manager of the prison creates the conditions for a visit the next of kin of the prisoner whose life is under threat in connection with a critical disease. The kinds and numbers of meetings depend on the type of the prison. 

If you have a life-threatening medical condition, you may be able to receive an additional visit from your next of kin.

In the majority of the prisons, you can receive visitors every day of the week. Some temporary prisons only allow visits on certain days of the week. Check with the prison social workers when visits are allowed.

When family members visit from the UK, consular staff usually try to arrange permission for extra visits because of the additional travel. Extra visits are at the discretion of the prison governor.

You may not be allowed visits, or they may be restricted if you are in pre-trial detention.

Your appointed lawyer can visit you at any time, for as long as needed.

What to expect when you visit

They must show their passport and visit permit when they arrive at the prison. These are held by the prison and the passport is returned at the end of the visit. Visitors will be searched by the guards of their gender and their ID will be checked as well as proof of relationship. Visitors who are under the influence of alcohol or drugs or who are not listed in the visit permission will not be allowed in.

Prison staff can end a visit if you or your visitor attempt to pass any forbidden items, substances or share any information on your criminal case.

The conditions and equipment in meeting rooms may vary depending on the facility. A prison officer will be present during all visits and will be able to hear you and your visitors.

What you can take on your visit

Visitors can take the following items:

• food
• toiletries
• clothing and footwear
• writing supplies
• books, magazines and newspapers

Only medicine prescribed by a prison doctor can be brought.

Every prison has its own list of permitted and prohibited items. The list is usually displayed in the entrance or reception area. All visitors’ bags and parcels will be searched before entry. The authorities have the right to withhold items they deem to be unacceptable.

The families should contact the FCDO in advance of their visit so we can provide them with an updated list.

Visits: consular staff

The British Embassy Baku consular staff will normally visit you once every 6 months. The frequency of consular visits is based on your vulnerability. If the consular team becomes aware of any substantial deterioration of your health or wellbeing, gross mistreatment or human rights violation, a scheduled consular visit may be brought forward. Consular staff agree the schedule of their visits with you at their first contact. Guards are normally present during the visit and consular staff may be asked to provide a broad interpretation of what is being said.

At each Consular visit, our staff will complete a visit report form. If there is any information that you would prefer not to disclose to your next of kin you should let us know during the visit. During our routine visits you will have the opportunity to discuss any health issues, security concerns, your treatment in prison and any other general issues that you wish to raise with our Consular staff.

You can write to us at any time on matters that concern you at the following address, but if it is urgent, it may be quicker to ask prison authorities to contact us or ask your lawyer to pass a message to Consular staff. It is also sometimes possible to arrange urgent phone call with the Embassy depending on the prison conditions. Foreign prisoners have a right to make phone calls to their Embassy and family/friends.

Consular Section 
British Embassy Baku 
Khagani street 45 A
Baku, Azerbaijan

Emergency trips outside of prison

You may be allowed to make a short trip outside of prison if an urgent situation arises (for example, the death or serious illness of a close family member). This will depend on the security regime of the prison and your conviction.  You need to submit a written request for an emergency trip to the prison governor. If the governor gives permission, you will need to cover the cost of the trip.

In the case of a medical emergency, if prison medical staff are unable to provide assistance or treatment, you will be taken to a hospital or clinic outside the prison.

Emergency trips outside Azerbaijan are not possible.

Police custody and initial arrival at prison

Arriving at the police station: your basic rights

If you are detained and arrested, you are initially held by the police (or other law enforcement organisation).

There are two types of temporary detention areas:

• Temporary Detention Places (in Azerbaijani, “müvəqqəti saxlama yerləri”), which are under the authority of the police or another law enforcement organisations

• Pre-trial Detention Facility (in Azerbaijani, “istintaq təcridxanaları”), which are under the authority of the relevant state body (for example, the Ministry of Justice or the State Security Service)

These detention areas have similar, but different internal codes of conducts.

You may be detained before the start of a criminal case against you in the following circumstances:

• if you were captured at the location of a crime immediately after a crime was permitted or in the course of committing it

• if a victim or other witness has reported you committing a crime

• if there is physical evidence in a vehicle, place of residence, on your body, clothes or other items of personal use indicating that you committed a crime

• if you try and escape from the investigating authorities

• if you don’t have a permanent residence or if you are resident in another area of the country.

• if you can’t prove your identity

When you arrive at the Temporary Detention Place an officer will meet you and check your identity document, take your photo and may take your fingerprints.

When you arrive at a Temporary Detention Place or Pre-trial Detention Facility an officer will search you. You will also be searched any time you leave and re-enter the facility. If the authorities take items away from you, they will be kept in storage, and you will be asked to sign a list of confiscated items. If you are transferred from a Temporary Detention Place to a Pre-trial Detention Facility, then they will be sent to the new location.

If you request it, valuables and other items that you cannot keep with you may be handed over to your immediate relatives or others. If prohibited items are found during a search, such items shall be confiscated by written protocol and a criminal investigation may be started, if appropriate.

The British Embassy cannot store your personal belongings on your behalf. The only property we can keep for you are your passport and driver’s license. However, these are usually retained at the penitentiary service until the end of your sentence. Please note that your passport might be kept by the law enforcement bodies as evidence of the alleged crime or as a condition for your bail or parole.

You  have the following basic rights:

• to contact immediate relatives and others by phone to let them know where you are

• to be safe and not be tortured or suffer or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment

• to be told about your rights and duties in a writing and in a language, you understand 

* to be informed of all procedural acts related to your stay at the detention place, including your access to attorney and legal representative

• to have free meals and access to medical services during your detention

• to receive present, parcel and banderols

• to appeal against the actions that violate your rights and legal interests, as well as the legality and substantiality of your detention.

• to have 8 hours uninterrupted sleep a night – you should not have to deal with matters relating to your case during this time 

• to have at least 2 hours exercise per day

• to buy food and other necessary items at your own expense

• to appeal decisions of the management of the detention place

• to contact UK diplomatic representatives and its consulate in Azerbaijan, as well as national or international organisations who had responsibility for your visit and stay in Azerbaijan

You will be able to contact your immediate family by phone and other tell them about your detention. The authorities will keep a log of these calls. Calls can be 15 minutes long and you or the people you are calling will have to pay for them. You can make international calls. Your right to make or receive calls may be restricted if it is judged they might cause a crime to be committed, affect a criminal investigation, endanger someone’s safety or violate the rules of the Temporary Detention Place. You have the right to appeal any decision to restrict you access to phone calls.

When a British citizen is detained in Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani authorities must inform the British Embassy immediately (within 24 hours) via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, in practice the notification is done in writing and may take weeks to reach us. It is essential therefore that you ask for the Embassy to be informed as soon as possible after your arrest. We may be informed of your arrest quicker by your friends or relations.

For reasons of confidentiality, we cannot tell anyone that you have been detained or what the charges are without your permission. Be aware that your friends or family may find out about your arrest through the internet or press. If you want to inform your family, we can make contact with them through our colleagues in the FCDO in London. We can give your family or next of kin advice on prison procedures, regulations, and how you are doing. We can also pass on any messages from you.

We aim to contact you as soon as possible after we learn of your detention. Be aware that it can take a long time for a visit permit to be given.

We will make sure you understand the charges against you. We will check that you have legal representation by giving you a list of English-speaking attorneys, or ensuring a state attorney has been appointed. You have the right to request a free translation service if you cannot understand the language of the crime investigation process. Officer investigating the crime or from the Temporary Investigation Place must provide this translation.

If appropriate, we will also consider approaching the local authorities if you are not treated in line with internationally accepted standards.

From the moment of your detention or arrest, you have a right to meet with your legal representative and have confidential discussions without limits on the duration or number of meetings.

If you have requested legal aid, you cannot be interrogated, and interrogation cannot be continued without the presence of your legal representative. Any confession taken during interrogation cannot be referred to as evidence during court proceedings if they are obtained without the presence of your legal representative, unless you have surrendered your right to representation. You must also be allowed to have confidential and private discussions with your legal representative.

If you don’t have private legal representation, you must be given a list of local lawyers and be given the opportunity to contact them. If you can’t afford a lawyer, you will have the opportunity to meet an on-duty lawyer, free of charge. You can reject the services of a legal aid lawyer in writing and the Temporary Detention Place will keep a record of your decision.

If these rights are not complied with you should demand to speak to a lawyer, insist on calling the Embassy or ask the detention place management to call the Embassy. You can also make a written complaint addressed to a prosecutor or the highest ranked officer of Temporary Detention Place.

Medical checks will be carried out by the prison health department in order to assess if you need any treatment for ongoing medical conditions (for example, blood pressure, diabetes, HIV).

If you are arrested at the airport, you will initially spend some time in a police cell at the airport. Whilst you are there, the police will usually gather evidence and interview you in the presence of a translator. You will be taken from the airport to a Temporary Detention Place at a police station. While remanded in a Temporary Detention Place or Pre-trial Detention Facility you will be searched. You may also be required to have a medical check and be tested for alcohol and drugs. You will have access to food and water, a bed and you may request to see a doctor if you require medical assistance.

During the investigation you may be required to attend the crime scene, participate in a crime re-enactment, and undergo various tests. If you are taken outside for interrogation or other investigating actions this must be during daytime hours and no later than 9pm. At the end of the interrogation, you will be required to sign a custody record (‘protocol’) to confirm you understand and agree with the contents. You should refuse to sign if you do not understand the contents and ask to see a lawyer.

When the initial investigation is over, you and your lawyer should be allowed access to all case details, translated into English if required. After that, the investigator will submit the case to the public prosecutor for approval. This can take up to 10 days. The prosecutor may order a trial by approving the charges, return the file to investigator for further investigation or close the case if there is no substantial evidence for trial. The prosecutor must provide you with the charging paper, with English translation if required, and the case will be submitted to the Court.

You should not sign anything that you do not understand.

Appearing at court

In Azerbaijan, a court is the only authority, which has a legal right to find someone guilty of a crime and sentence them. Once the investigation into the alleged crime is complete, the investigating authority forwards the case to the state prosecutor who then forwards the case to court. The court will schedule a hearing or a trial.

In a trial, court puts the prosecution against the defence and requires both to find and present the evidence of their position. The parties to court proceedings are the parties to crime investigation process, which includes prosecution (a state prosecutor and an investigator), defence (a suspect and their defence lawyer) and third parties (court clerk, witnesses, experts, specialist, interpreter). The suspect has a right to refuse services of a free defence lawyer appointed by the state and hire a lawyer of their choice. The suspect also has a right to refuse any legal representation.

Azerbaijan court proceedings are conducted in the Azerbaijan language. The lawyers in Azerbaijan (provided by the state or privately hired) are not required to speak English.

You must attend the hearing and if you refuse to participate the court hearing will be conducted without you. You have the right not to give a statement in court. If you do not have a lawyer and do not want to have an appointed lawyer, you may represent yourself in court or have your family member act as your public defender.

If you have been charged with a crime, you have the right to make a statement at the trial, file a complaint, testify, speak at the trial and familiarise yourself with your case file materials. If you do not understand Azerbaijani, you have the right to speak your own language and use the services of an interpreter provided and paid for by the state. Any court involving someone who doesn’t speak Azerbaijani includes an interpreter appointed by court.

Initial arrival at prison

If you are a new prisoner, you will be kept apart from other prisoners for 2 weeks, unless you have a health condition that means you need to stay in the prison medical facility. During these 2 weeks you will:

• meet the prison psychologist
• be told about your rights and responsibilities (in a language you understand)
• be told about the terms and conditions of your sentence (in a language you understand)
• be told about the prison’s code of conduct (in a language you understand)

If you are sentenced to imprisonment, you and your personal belongings will be transferred to prison. The type of prison will depend on the crime you are convicted of. On arrival at the prison, you and your belongings will be searched. You will also be given a medical examination and have disinfection treatment.

Prison staff make will an inventory of all your belongings and this will be kept on file. Prison authorities will retain all the items that you are not allowed to keep including money and other valuables. All your belongings (including those that are stored) should not exceed 50 kg. You will not have any access to stored items until the time of your release. All prohibited items, substances and information, will be confiscated and handed over to the storage or destructed by substantiated decision of the head of the facility.

If you have essential medication that you have brought with you (for example, insulin) you should notify the prison doctor. All prescription medicines must be registered with the prison’s medical facility and can be used for in-patient, or out-patient treatment as instructed by a doctor.

Passport and other personal possessions, that you are not allowed to have in your cell, will be kept in the prison’s storage and will be returned when you are released. You will be allowed to keep and use your own clothing if it corresponds to prison rules, and you will also be provided with a uniform and basic toiletry.

With your permission, the prison will inform someone you nominate about your admission within 3 days of your arrival. This information will include address of the prison, details of your right to receive presents, parcels, as well as a list of prohibited items, goods and substances which cannot be sent to you. There will also be information about rights to phone calls, meetings and receiving money. If you are sentenced to life imprisonment or fixed-term imprisonment the management of the prison will inform the UK consulate, if you give your permission.

You have the right to a phone call twice a week if you are sentenced to fixed term imprisonment, and once a week if you are sentenced to life imprisonment.  Each call can be a maximum of 15 minutes. During this time you are allowed to have a call with one person. The facility’s management allows additional phone calls based on the prisoner’s request and in extreme instances (such as the death of the prisoner’s direct relative, life threatening illness or a natural disaster). Phone calls are made in specially built cabins, and they are not limited to domestic lines. Inter-city and cell phone calls are paid for by you or your immediate family, who must send the funds to your account ahead of time.

Prison: conditions and daily life

You should be provided with personal hygiene products and have access to cleaned communal areas at the prison. Overcrowding is a problem so you cannot expect a single cell as a matter of course. Your cell should have enough light, the temperature should be regulated (not less than 18°C in winter) in such buildings and should have fresh air ventilation.

There should be a toilet and a water supply in the cell. You will be given a bed and bedding. There will be communal bathing facilities, a laundry, a hairdresser, a place for repairing footwear and clothes, as well as special rooms for the storage of your personal items and food. You should be allowed to have a bath once a week and to change your used bedding. You should be given clothes, underwear and footwear that are appropriate for the weather conditions and seasons.

Accomodation

Prisons are divided into two distinct areas: living areas for prisoners and industrial areas.

Living areas include:

• dormitory buildings

• kitchens

• a canteen

• a shop

• general and professional schools

• clubs and sport premises

• a library

• a computer room

• a prayer room

• a medical unit

• a phone room

• a laundry

• showers

• a barber

• storage for keeping bedding items

• storage for keeping personal items for daily use

There will be a building for disciplinary confinements, and cells. There is also a quarantine building where new prisoners are kept separately from other prisoners during a period of quarantine, which include bedrooms, canteen, sanitary-cleaning units and areas and dressing room.

There are the following types of prison:

• precinct (“məntəqə tipli”)

• common (“ümumi”)

• serious (“ciddi”)

• special (“xüsusi”)

• prison (“həbsxana”)

• correctional (“tərbiyəvi”) or medical (“müalicə”)

Each of these prisons is unique in terms of sentence execution and prisoner conditions.

A precinct prison is intended for prisoners who have been sentenced to a certain fixed-term imprisonment of no more than 5 years for a crime committed due to negligence. Petty crimes, or less serious and serious type crimes committed deliberately, as well as a crime committed by negligence for which more than five years definite term imprisonment is sanctioned, as well as special serious crimes and crimes for which life imprisonment is considered, the prisoner shall serve the adjudicated sentence in other regimes classified above.

A precinct prison is less strict and lacks video surveillance. They contain common dormitories, a restaurant, a shop, a medical-sanitary unit, additional rooms, a library, a room for collective and cultural activities, sport areas, laundry and bathrooms, personal item storage for prisoners, disciplinary confinement, and a guest room. Facilities of ordinary, serious, and special types include places with typical dormitory structures and camera rooms.

 Prisoners serving their sentences in the precinct, common, serious, and special type facilities are given with living space in standard dormitory buildings with overall size norms specified by sentence execution law. Each prisoner is assigned an individual bed (with bedding) with a plate with his or her full name.

Prisoners housed in cells must have at least 4 square metres of living space each. Cameras in prisons, as well as camera-type rooms and single cameras in other sentence-serving facilities, are equipped with large windows that allow prisoners to read and work in natural light while also maintaining the flow of fresh air. Welded metal bars serve as window coverings.

Food and diet

Prisoners are entitled to three hot meals daily. Prison food is free but very basic. You will need money to buy extra items such as tea, coffee, sugar, fruits, and sweets, which can be purchased at the prison shop or brought to you by family or friends.

The prison authorities have assured us that the food they offer is a balanced meal that meets the daily nutritional requirements. A specific diet can only be supplied for medical reasons (such as diabetes or high blood pressure). This is not applicable to vegetarians.

Your family or friends can send you food, but there are several limits on what they can and cannot bring, which vary based on the detention facility. There is also a restriction to the quantity and weight of parcels you can receive, which varies depending on your confinement regime.

Drinking water is supplied to sentence serving facilities, and each prisoner has access to drinking water at all times, which is provided by the country’s water supply service.

Hygiene

Prisoners are allowed to bathe once a week and replenish their underwear and bedding. During hot seasons, prisoners are allowed to bathe (shower) more frequently. All living areas, canteens, kitchens, warehouses, service rooms, and other sites are thoroughly disinfected on a regular basis. Prisoners are responsible for cleaning their cells.

Shower stalls and toilets might vary depending on the facility, and older facilities may have substandard conditions.

Basic toiletries (toothpaste, a bar of soap and laundry soap, a roll of toilet paper, and a pack of hygiene pads for women) are provided upon arrival; later, you can purchase toiletries from the prison shop or have them sent to you.

Work and study

Employment opportunities exist within the prison. However, because there aren’t enough jobs to go around, the prison finds it impossible to provide work for all prisoners. You will need to apply for a position and then wait for your name to be called.

Prisoners usually work at the manufacturing facilities located at the prison premises. These usually include making garments or spare parts for machinery, processing wood, or working in a prison kitchen.

Working hours vary according to the type of labour but are typically eight hours per day and always adhere to the internal prison regime. Prisoners may be involved in unpaid social labour, such as cleaning the rooms and prison surroundings. Work can only be carried out on the prison premises.

If you work, you will be paid significantly less than you would if you were not in prison.

Study opportunities are also available, but they are often unsuitable for foreigners due to language barriers. There are only a few prisons that offer language classes. Learning and development options may differ from prison to prison.

Contact and languages

Meetings between prisoners from other facilities are not permitted by default, as defined by the Code of Conduct, but it is possible to meet with other prisoners within the same camera of the same regime/facility. There is no certainty that English-speaking prisoners will be placed in the same facility/cell. Not all of the personnel speak English.

Telephone conversations are limited to 15 minutes and are made once a week for life prisoners and twice a week for definite term prisoners in specially designed cabins (rooms) overseen by facility workers. 

Cell phone use and storage is restricted in sentence serving facilities. If prohibited items are discovered during a planned or routine search of prisoners, they must be confiscated and stored or destroyed by the facility’s head. Any violations of internal rules may result in disciplinary action.

Prisoners are permitted to receive writing materials, literature, newspapers, and periodicals via parcels and banderols, as well as purchase them by means of money from their own accounts. The entry area for accepting presents, parcels, and banderols includes writing supplies as well as a complaint and application procedure. There is no restriction on your correspondence with family, friends, or other individuals. You may receive or send an unlimited number of letters and telegrams at your expense. There is no limit on how many letters you can send or receive. According to the Sentence Execution Code, letters and telegrams can only be sent through the administration. The prison authorities are obliged to deliver letters with the minimum of delay. Please be advised that the prison may read your letters before they are delivered to the intended recipient. Letters written with cryptic or conditional symbols, reflecting prison activity, or containing a state secret or indecent phrases are not forwarded and destroyed, according to a drawn-up declaration. If you are told you are not permitted to receive letters in English, please alert a Consular Officer, and we will contact the Director of the prison.

The Sentence Execution Code prevents you from obtaining, keeping, subscribing to, or disseminating publications that promote war, violence, and brutality, incite national or religious hatred, or include pornographic material.

Detention facilities are equipped with computer rooms, and internet access is authorized under the observation and control of facility personnel. The facility management determines the weekly schedule for using computer rooms.

Prisoners may read books and newspapers in the facility’s library. The library of the facility is furnished with book stock on the basis of “at least 5 books per prisoner,” and books are refreshed annually. To some extent, books and magazines are also available in foreign languages (including English). Prisoners may also voluntarily subscribe to Azerbaijani newspapers. Each prisoner is permitted to keep up to ten books (journals), with the remainder donated to a library or stored.

Prisoners at the sentence serving facility are allowed to watch centralised TV during their four hours of rest time per day, as well as six hours per day on weekends and holidays. Prisoners serving life sentences may have access to private television.

Facilities include centres and venues for organizing cultural-collective events. Prisoners are permitted to form cultural clubs within the facility and organize performances. To successfully manage prisoners’ leisure time, the facility’s management also allows them to play table-top games, as well as providing various opportunities for sports and other past time activities.

Climate

The climate of Azerbaijan is highly diverse. The vast majority of the country is covered in dry semi-arid steppe. Summers are often hot, while winters are warm and damp, with snow on the mountains. In the summer, average temperatures range from 41°F (5°C) in the mountains to 81°F (27°C) in the lowlands, and in the winter, from 14°F (-10°C) to 37°F (3°C).

Prisoners are given mattresses and beddings. They are also provided at the state’s cost with jeans and other weather-appropriate clothing, as well as underwear and shoes. Prisoners are provided with clothing for work and outdoor walks based on weather conditions. Prisoners sentenced to life and definite term imprisonment wear uniforms during their sentence.

Exercise

Prisons include outdoor places for regular walks. According to the Sentence Execution Code, prisoners who are detained inside the facility, closed room, or cameras have the right to walk outside for at least one hour per day. This general norm also applies to prisoners held in disciplinary detention. Walking outside is scheduled during the day and is done independently for each close room and camera. Walking time may be terminated before the planned timeframe if the prisoner violates facility rules.

Prisoners held in remand centres for administrative and communal services, as well as those in rehabilitation or common type facilities, are permitted to walk outside for two hours per day as long as they work inside the facility or in closed rooms.

According to the facility guidelines, management may provide an additional one hour walk outside as a form of encouragement in response to the prisoner’s good and outstanding behaviour or other remedial efforts.

According to the Sentence Execution Code, the management of prisons provides conditions for exercising and organizes sporting events for the health and well-being of prisoners. Physical sport workouts, trainings, and routine morning gymnastics are scheduled for one hour every day. Prisoners may also acquire additional sports clothing and equipment on their own behalf if they choose to participate in sports that exceed the established parameters.

Religion

You have freedom of conscious and religion and can take part in religious ceremonies. There is a designated place for religious practice, and the use of religious items and literature are allowed. Prisons are not staffed with religious or faith leaders. However, if you request it representatives of the registered religious organisations in the country are invited to the facility for performing religious rites and delivering speeches to prisoners.

Rules and regulations (drugs)

The following disciplinary measures can be applied against prisoners serving definite term and life imprisonment sentences:

• warning

• reprimand

• a move to disciplinary confinement: men for 15 days and women for 10 days

• to relocate prisoners at special regime facilities from the regular residential building of the dormitory type to the rooms of the camera type

The following activities are considered deliberate breaches of prison rules:

• drinking alcohol or taking other intoxicating substances

• taking narcotics or psychotropic substances

• minor hooliganism

• threatening, insulting or refusing to obey instructions of prison staff

• threatening or insulting other public representatives performing their service duties

• participating in group disobedience

• receiving disciplinary punishment more than three times during a single year

• leaving the area of the prison without permission

• not returning to the facility within a designated time frame without reasonable justification (for prisoners on parole or day release)

The severity of the disciplinary breaches and the disciplinary measure to be implemented is decided by the management board of the prison.

Receiving, storing and using narcotics and to intake alcohol or other strongly affecting substances, as well as narcotic or psychotropic substances are prohibited. Cigarettes are allowed only in specified areas inside the prisons. Cigarettes are often used as unofficial internal currency.

All prohibited items, goods, food staff and substances which cannot be received, stored and used by prisoners revealed during planned or sudden inspections, shall either be confiscated (destroyed) or returned to sender provided that there is no liability for such conduct. If there was received in the present, parcel and banderols prohibited items, goods or other substances, the management of the facility confiscates them and forms a protocol and other materials as evidence, thereafter, informs the Penitentiary service and Ministry of Justice immediately. Revealed items together with search documents are sent to the Ministry of Justice for further procession.

In order to prevent the spread of infectious diseases, all new arrivals must wash and undergo a medical check-up before entering a period of quarantine for two weeks to monitor the existence of any infectious disease. If any infectious disease is detected, a prisoner is immediately isolated and is sent to a medical facility to receive treatment. 

Prisoners may be sent to medical facility outside of the prison whilst accompanied by an official of the Penitentiary service, upon the decision of the medical-sanitary unit of the facility, and where the Ministry of Justice agrees.

You can earn privileges for good behaviour by following the internal prison rules, participation in social events, work or studies. These include verbal or written acknowledgments and additional phone calls. Should you later apply for an early release, your good behaviour will be taken into consideration.

Prisoners who are serving their sentence at the facility of precinct regime may be allowed to spend weekend and holidays outside of the facility as form of encouragement measure. Other forms of encouragement measure which could be implemented by the management of the facility may include alleviation of the facility regimes in serving the sentence (except for life imprisoners), as well as written recommendation of the facility management for prisoner’s consideration to pardon.

Prison: access to help and services

Receiving money

There are 2 ways you may be able to receive financial assistance while in prison:

• private funds: deposited to you by your family or friends

• Prisoners Abroad: depending on where you are detained, if your family cannot support you financially, Prisoners Abroad may be able to send you a small grant every quarter for essentials (enough for one hot meal a day)

The UK government does not provide financial assistance to prisoners.

Private funds

While the FCDO does not provide financial assistance to prisoners, we may be able, within certain limits, to send you money from your family or friends. Please note that you cannot have cash sent to you in the post.

The FCDO operates a ‘Prison Comfort’ system for money transfers to prisoners. Ask your family or friends to get in touch with the FCDO to arrange this.

You can receive money directly from family members into a prison bank account in your name. Your family should not send cash in parcels. You or your family can request the prison’s bank details and instructions on what information should be provided with the deposit for it to be correctly identified and allocated to your personal account.

We strongly advise prisoners not to make it evident if they have access to regular funds. You should advise your family not to send or deliver expensive gifts or large parcels. Foreign prisoners are always seen to be rich, and as a result they are sometimes targeted by other inmates as a good source of funds. You could become a victim of theft and extortion or targeted by drug abusers.

Prisoners Abroad

Prisoners Abroad may be able to assist you with funding for prison essentials and some medical care if you are not receiving regular funding from other sources. You are eligible for Prisoners Abroad Craig Feehan Fund, the Vitamin Fund and the Medical Fund.

Medical and dental treatment

While you are detained, Azerbaijan is responsible for ensuring your basic medical needs are met.

There are established medical and sanitary divisions at every prison. Basic medical attention is free of charge.  Prisoners diagnosed with tuberculosis are sent to the specialised medical facilities for treatment.

If you need medical or dental treatment you should make an appointment to see the prison doctor or dentist. In some large prisons it can be difficult to get an early appointment but if the situation is urgent, you should contact the prison social worker, who may be able to get you an appointment more quickly than through the normal channels. It is unlikely that you will be treated by an English-speaking doctor.

If you require a test, or a specialist assessment or treatment which cannot be carried out on the prison premises, you will be transferred to the nearest external state hospital for prisoners. Either you or your relatives should cover the charges for such services or for medicine. In such cases the medical consultation or treatment should be carried out under the supervision of the medical personnel at the medical and sanitary division of the prison.

Most healthcare providers do not speak English and the quality of services and medicines may be below UK standards. Prison doctors are often the equivalent of GPs in the UK, so unusual or complex problems may be referred to a specialist outside the prison.

Prescribed medication is normally provided by the prison, but it is most likely to be locally manufactured. Family or friends can bring or send prescribed medicine to you in prison, but it can only be taken by you under the direct observation of the prison medical personnel.

All prisons are staffed with a psychologist. It is very unlikely that they would speak English, but counselling sessions can be arranged with assistance of a translator. It may be possible to arrange an external English-speaking mental health counsellor to visit you in prison at your expenses, but a permission will need to be obtained.

If you need glasses, you may ask the prison medical staff to help with the assessment and then you can have them sent to you by your family.

If you have a long-standing medical problem and have received treatment for it in the UK, it may be useful to have your medical records, or at least a report, sent from your doctor in the UK. Your UK doctor can send the report, via the Embassy, addressed to you.

With your permission, we can make sure that any medical or dental problems you might have are brought to the attention of any police or prison doctor. We can also contact your GP in the UK, if the police or prison doctor requests previous medical records.

Letters and parcels

You can receive or send any number of letters and telegrams at your own expense. The prison authorities are obliged to deliver letters with the minimum of delay. Please be aware that the prison might read your letters before sending to the recipient. If you are told you are not allowed to receive letters in English, you should notify a Consular Officer and we will communicate with the Director of the prison.

You can only send letters or telegrams only via the prison administration. The letters are sent either via post office boxes or via the administration offices.

Your letters are read by the administration. The letters written code, detailing prison life, containing a state secrets or inappropriate language will not be sent and are destroyed.

All letters sent to the Embassy are opened to check for prohibited items. Consular officers will not read the contents. Delays of up to 5 days are not unusual. You can receive parcels from your family. The amount of post you can receive during a year depends on the kind of prison. Please be aware that parcels should be sent directly to the prison; parcels sent to the Embassy will not be forwarded to you. Parcels must have the name and details of the sender, otherwise the parcel will be refused.

There are weight limits to parcels received and sent.  The weight of a parcel is established at up to 10kg and for a letter up to 2 kg. The weight of presents is also established at up to 10kg. You are allowed to keep books and magazines up to ten volumes.

There is no limitation to receive post for critically diseased prisoners, or for pregnant women or those having children in prisons, or prisoners with disabilities.

It is forbidden for you to obtain, or to keep publications propagandising the war, violence and brutality, or rousing national and religious hatred, as well as publications of pornographic character or to subscribe and disseminate them.

Telephone calls

You are allowed a 15-minute telephone call once in a week (for life prisoners) or twice a week (for fixed-term prisoners). Calls must be made in the special phone cabins/rooms and under the supervision of staff. Prisoners in disciplinary confinement are not allowed to make or receive telephone calls during the period of the punishment.

You have to register the numbers you wish to call with the prison administration. Normally, calls to the registered numbers do not require any prior authorisation. Written requests to make a call are registered in the logbook and signed off by the prisoner. In case the dialled number does not answer, the officer dials another number mentioned in the application. In case if technical problems, one telephone call is exchanged with one short-time meeting.

The cost of the calls is paid from your personal account based on the bill received from the communication service. If immediate family members want to pay the cost, they should transfer the amount into your personal account.  Calls are made through the prison land line and may be monitored by prison staff.

Mobile phones are not allowed in Azerbaijani prisons. If you are found with a mobile phone, you will face disciplinary action. If prohibited items are revealed during planned or routine search of prisoners and accommodation, all such items, substances and shall be confiscated and handed over to the storage or destructed by substantiated decision of the head of the facility.  Disciplinary measures can be applied due to a breach of the internal rules of behaviour.

Making a complaint about mistreatment

If you have been mistreated, you should inform consular staff as soon as it is safe for you to do so. We will then do our best to visit you, to check on your welfare, discuss the allegations, and explain any local complaints procedures and supportive organisations that you may wish to consider. With your permission, and where appropriate, we will consider approaching the local authorities if you have not been treated in line with internationally accepted standards. If you have been mistreated, try to see a doctor, obtain a medical report and if possible, take photos of your injuries. By law, citizens have the right to a safe life. This also applies to prisoners, and you have a right to personal safety. If your life or health is threatened, or an attempt made on your life, or in the event of a crime against you, you can ask or write to prison guards to secure your safety and move you to a safe place if required. You can ask the guards to speak to the prison director or their deputy. Incidences of harassment, threats or violence are rare, but if you do experience such treatment, you should report this to Consular representative as soon as possible. It is our responsibility to take up allegations of mistreatment against a British national. We will only raise concerns with the prison administration if you request that we do so. You have a right to make a written complaint to the following external governmental bodies including prison monitoring boards:

• Milli Mejlis (National Assembly) of the Azerbaijan Republic Parliament prospectus 1, Baku;

• The President’s Office of the Azerbaijan Republic 19 Istiglaliyyat Street, Baku

• The Ministry of Justice of the Azerbaijan Republic 1 Inshaatchilar Ave, Baku

• The Main Department for Execution of the Sentences of Court at the Ministry of Justice Suleyman Dadashov street 84/3, Baku

• The Supreme Court of the Azerbaijan Republic Yusif Safarov Street 14, Block 1193

• General Prosecutor’s Office of the Azerbaijan Republic 7 N. Rafibeyli Street, Baku

• Prosecutor’s Office of Baku 30 Uz. Hajibeyov Street, Baku

• Institute on Law and Human Rights Baku, H.Javid ave,115

• The Society for Protection of Women’s Rights named after Dilara Aliyeva Mirza Mansur Street 4/6, Baku

Chapter 3: The Azerbaijan judicial system

The Azerbaijan the legal system is based on civil law. The judicial power is vested in independent courts of Azerbaijan: Constitutional Court, Supreme Court and High Economic Court, general and specialized courts of the Azerbaijan Republic. The judicial power is exercised via constitutional, civil, administrative and criminal legal proceedings and in other forms specified by the Law.

The Constitution of the Azerbaijan Republic is the basic foundation of the Legislative system in the Republic. Azerbaijani courts do not rely extensively on case law and judicial precedent. Except for decisions of the Constitutional Court of Azerbaijan, decisions of the courts are not usually counted as a source of law. The sources of law in the Azerbaijani legal system are:

• the Constitution of Azerbaijan

• acts adopted via referendum

• laws passed by the National Assembly of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan’s legislature

• decrees

• resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers

• international treaties to which Azerbaijan is a party

The Constitutional Court of the Azerbaijan Republic consists of nine judges and is authorised to review the following: constitutionality of the laws of the republic; presidential decrees; regulations of the central government authorities; signatures on treaties; the settlement of disputes connected to the division of power between the legislative and executive branches. In addition, the Constitutional Court decides on issues affecting the banning of political parties or other organisations.

The Supreme Court of the Azerbaijan Republic is the highest judicial body in civil, criminal, administrative and other cases that are referred to it by the general courts. Moreover, it exercises control over the activity of the general courts.

The Economic Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan is the highest legal body deciding economic disputes.

The FCDO cannot interfere with the judicial system. We cannot ask for your case to be judged more quickly just because you are British or ask the authorities to waive any penalties.

What should happen after you are arrested

You will be taken to a prison facility; it is possible that you will spend one night at an airport holding cell or police station. In some cases, you might be taken to a detention centre, which has slightly inferior standards compared to other prisons.

When you are arrested, you should be made aware of your rights. One of your rights is to make a phone call to speak to a family member. You should tell the authorities if you wish the British Embassy to be informed of your arrest.

The officer that arrested you might want to take a statement from you. This has to be done with a translator or someone who can speak English.

If you can’t afford a private lawyer, the Azerbaijan government will appoint a public defender for you.

Your legal status is clarified in Articles 9-14 of the Second Chapter of the Sentences Execution Code. You enjoy the rights and bear responsibilities for citizens of Azerbaijan Republic with limitations, stipulated by the Constitution of Azerbaijan Republic and the Laws of Azerbaijan Republic.

If you have any questions on the legal aspects of your arrest, contact your lawyer. Find a list of local English-speaking lawyers.

For how long can I be remanded in custody?

It is likely that you will remain in custody until your trial. There is no set time for this. Hearings usually take place 3 to 6 months from the date of arrest although in some cases this may be longer. Normally the judge will hear the accused and the witnesses.

Prisoners on remand and sentenced prisoners: differences

“Prisoners on remand” is assumed as detainees, who are kept in TDP or PDF’s since before obtained a status of prisoner.

Detainees at TDP and PDF have comparatively flexible detention condition than those of prisoners and have similar or the same rights to phone calls, visits and right to hire/meet a lawyer.

After you are charged

The courts will inform you, your lawyer/public defender and the prison authorities of your sentence. If you don’t have a private lawyer, you will be assisted by public defenders who will put forward requests for benefits such as semi-open, parole etc, as soon as you are entitled to them.

Your basic rights and freedom are as follows:

• to serve the sentence in condition that secures the respect of a person

• to be engaged in socially useful labour

• to rest

• to get out-patient and stationary medical aid depending on the medical conclusion, including the first medical aid

• to get information on your own rights and responsibilities, including the procedures and conditions of the sentence execution pursuant to the decision of the court

• to appeal, propose, or complain in your national language or other foreign language on the protection of your rights and freedom in an order determined in the Legislation of Azerbaijan Republic and, in case of necessity, to use an interpreter on the mentioned matters that are presented by the management of the prison

• to take part in religious rites

• to get legal advice

• to be educated and receive a trade

• to appeal in the court either personally or via a legal representative on:

  • delay of the sentence served or on its cancellation; on discharge of the sentence served
  • discharge of the sentence served under state of health
  • discharge of the sentence served in connection with the execution term of the sentence
  • conditional discharge ahead of time of the sentence served
  • change of the remaining part of the sentence to a simpler type of the sentence
  • change of place of imprisonment to another one
  • conclusion of treatment period into an imprisonment period
  • discharge of the sentence ahead of time
  • to appeal to the President of Azerbaijan Republic on amnesty either personally or via a legal representatives, as well as in the event of teenagers or prisoners suffering from physical defects or psychic diseases to appeal either via the defence counsels, or via their legal representatives thereto

Prisoner having the status of ‘foreigner’ or those without citizenship or refugees have the right to address on their personal matters within a short term to the diplomatic missions or consular representations of their countries in Azerbaijan Republic, or to the national or international organisations undertaking the trusteeship.

We need to bring to your notice that pursuant to the Resolution of the Constitution Court of Azerbaijan Republic of October 29, 1999, your rights to receive a pension in full volume (on old age or disablement etc.) and in cases stipulated in the Legislation, have been clarified in the Sentence Execution Code as differentiated from the Corrective Labour Code.

The staff of your prison should be courteous to you. You must not be subjected at all to cruel treatment or treatment abasing human dignity. The measures of compulsion can be applied in regard to you pursuant to the Legislation.

You have responsibilities in the prison as well. Your basic responsibilities are as follows. You must:

• attend to your responsibilities determined by the Legislation of Azerbaijan Republic and observe the relevant behaviour norms accepted in society

• observe the requirements of the Sentence Execution Code and other relevant legal standards

• follow the instructions of prison staff

• treat prison staff, visitors and your fellow prisoners with respect

Bail

Serious crimes don’t have provision for bail. There are bail provisions for other minor offences such as offending a civil servant, damaging public assets and others. Your lawyer/public defender will be best placed to advice on this matter. Bail might be decided by the police officer in charge of the case and the person will be held until the bail is paid.

The FCDO cannot transfer bail funds.

Trial and legal assistance

Legal assistance: lawyers and legal aid

If you want to hire a private lawyer, see our list of English-speaking lawyers. Prisoners Abroad can also supply general (non-country specific) information on legal aid, court proceedings and can advise on appointing a lawyer.

You can hire a lawyer for yourself at any time after your arrest. Normally, if you hire a private lawyer they will ask for a cash advance for their estimated legal fees before they will take your case on. The British Embassy cannot pay legal fees or guarantee to a lawyer that you will pay them.

You have the right to seek legal advice in Azerbaijan.

You may meet with a lawyer face-to-face at your, your next of kin’s or your lawyer’s request to receive legal advice.

The number and duration of your meetings with the lawyer are not limited. The meetings can be held face-to-face at your or your lawyer’s request. Such meetings are allowed within the framework of the rules of the prison at any time, except for the resting and non-working hours.

Trial

In Azerbaijan, when a criminal case comes to court, the judge may schedule a preliminary hearing or a trial. This is done within 14 days from the date of case receipt by court if you are on remand.

On your trial day you will be taken to the court office where your case is being handled. There will be a judge in charge of your case along with the public prosecutor and your lawyer or public defender. If you don’t speak Azeri either the court hires an interpreter to assist you, or you hire the interpreter yourself.

A trial may be held over several sessions.

Sentences

Sentences vary greatly in Azerbaijan and will depend on the seriousness of the crime. Your lawyer will be best placed to advise on length of sentences and on appeals’ processes.

Appeals

You have the right to appeal against your sentence in the Higher Courts through your lawyer. After the verdict made by the court of first instance has come into force, you and other parties to the proceedings may file an appeal at a higher level. Grounds for such appeals is normally a breach of legal procedure during the initial trial or first appeal hearing.

It is usual for the lawyer to appeal against your first sentence. The appeal process can be very slow (sometimes more than a full year) and can lead to delays in finalising the sentence. You have a right to withdraw the appeal if you wish.

Court sentences, which have not entered into legal force, except for the sentences issued by the Supreme Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan, can be appealed.

Reaching the end of your sentence.

Reduction of sentence (remission)

The court may consider a petition from prisoner or prison administration on reduction of sentence, its termination or replacement with a milder punishment, due to prisoner’s severe health condition (physical or mental) which does not allow him/her to serve the sentence in penitentiary institutions. A compulsory medical treatment may be imposed as an alternative.

A court may agree to substitute the remaining part of a prison sentence with community service if you have demonstrated good behaviour and compensated losses or damages resulted from your crime.

In some cases, pregnant women, single mothers or fathers caring for children and minors, elderly men and women, who have committed a crime for the first time and when it doesn’t involve harm to health or life of another person, come to an agreement with the victim and be released from serving a sentence.

Early release

There are certain circumstances allowing release from serving the sentence decided by the court. These are the following cases:

• conditional release before the end of your sentence. You may partly or fully be released from sentence upon a decision of the court if it decides that there is no need for for you to serve your full sentence. The court can place certain restrictions on your release. Conditional release depends on the seriousness of the crime committed and you have to spend the following proportions of your sentence in prison before you can be considered for conditional release (in all cases, there is a minimum of six months to be served in prison):

  • for petty crimes and crimes of less seriousness – half of the imposed sentence

  • for the serious crimes – two-thirds of the imposed sentence

  • for especially serious crimes – three-fours of the imposed sentence

• replacement of unserved part of sentence by less grave sentence. The court may replace the unserved part of the imposed sentence for petty and less serious crimes with less grave sentence in consideration of the prisoner’s good behaviour. This procedure may be applied only if one-third of the imposed sentence is actually spent

• release from serving the sentence due to serious illness. If a person has been ill with psychiatric disease following commission of a crime and unable to cognize and control the seriousness and actual character of his deeds, the court may decide on full or partial release from serving the sentence and order implementation of compulsory medical measures. By decision of the court, a person, who fell sick of another serious illness following commission of the crime, may also be released from serving the sentence

• reconciliation with the victim, compensation of the damage or repayment of the income obtained as a result of a crime. This mainly applies to the crimes against the right to property (ownership) and certain other crimes as determined under the AZ Criminal Code

Clemency or pardon

In Azerbaijan, pardon/clemency can only be given by the President. A pardon/clemency means that although the prison sentence will end the person will still have a criminal record. Please seek legal advice from your lawyer on how to apply.

Financial penalties

Financial penalties may be the part of the sentence. The amount of a fine shall be determined by a court subject to the gravity of the crime committed and the financial status of a prisoner. In case of failure to pay a fine, which was given as a principal type of punishment, it may be replaced with labour on public works, correctional labour, or detention.

Transfer to another prison within Azerbaijan

Transfers are only permitted in exceptional circumstances, for compassionate reasons.

Transfer to a prison in the UK

Both sentencing and receiving countries need to agree to a transfer.  Any applicant who is in the process of an appeal or has an unpaid fine, is unlikely to qualify for transfer. You can apply for transfer to the prison authorities either in person or via your lawyer. You need to discuss the details with your lawyer as the Consular staff are not legally trained.

Please note that the FCDO does not get involved in the decision making or transfer process, that is carried out by the Ministry of Justice, National Offenders Management Service (NOMS) and the local authorities in country.

To transfer to the UK, you must:

• be a British citizen or have close family ties with the UK (normally through permanent residence in the UK)

• not be awaiting trial

• have exhausted all appeals against your conviction and/or the length of your sentence; or have waived your right to an appeal

• have at least 6 months of your sentence left to serve when you apply for transfer

• have no outstanding fines or other non-custodial penalties

The offence you were convicted for must also be a criminal offence in the part of the UK you wish to be transferred to: England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.

The authorities in the sentencing country may refuse your request. Even if the sentencing country agrees to your transfer, the UK authorities may also refuse your request. Reasons for this might include if you have not lived in the UK for a number of years and you have no close family living there.

Release and deportation

Deportation from the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan is considered as an “additional” sentence. A deportation sentence is imposed on foreign nationals and persons without nationality, who have been sentenced to definite term for more than one (1) year. However, a person accused of a sentence of less than one (1) year, or any other sentence not related to deprivation of liberty may also be subject to deportation by decision of the court. The seriousness of the crime committed, and the behaviour of the criminal will be taken into account.

Deportation from the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan is not applicable to the following people:

• if the accused person has lived in the country for more than 5 years before the effective date of the court’s judgment

• if the accused person has an effective marriage with an Azerbaijani national before the date of the court’s judgment

• if the person was born in the Republic of Azerbaijan or one of his/her parents is a national of the Republic of Azerbaijan

• if the accused person has refugee status of has been granted political asylum

• if the accused person has a child who is a minor with Azerbaijani nationality or disable person of 1st or 2nd group of invalidity

• if there is serious assumption that the accused one may be subject to torture or persecution in the country of its deportation, or his/her deportation is against the interests of national security

Information about a foreigner or a person without nationality, who has been sentenced to deportation is handed over to the relevant state authority 2 months prior to the end of the main sentence to allow deportation to take place. A person sentenced to deportation, as an additional sentence, must be deported within 48 hours provided that this period is not prolonged by court upon request of the executing authority due to any unexpected delays. The part of the court’s indictment judgment related to deportation of the person may be challenged within the period of limitations set under the Criminal Procedural Code.

Expenses related to deportation is paid either by prisoner or diplomatic or consulates of the country to which the prisoner belongs, and in case, payment of expenses is not possible in either of these ways, then such expenses are to be covered by the relevant state executive authority of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Sometimes people find that they face difficulties adjusting to life in the UK once they have left prison. You may find yourself ready for life on the outside but not prepared for living in the UK. You may not have lived in the UK before and have no connections there, or perhaps you have lost touch with friends and family. You may want to talk to another person who understands what you have been through, to help you consider what to do next.

If you are registered with Prisoners Abroad, you can arrange an appointment with their Resettlement Team when you first arrive back in UK. They can help with for advice, temporary luggage store, make essential phone calls or use a computer. If you have no belongings Prisoners Abroad may be able to help with basic toiletries and finding suitable clothing. If you know your release date in advance you should tell the Prisoner and Family Team when you are likely to arrive and what help you think you might need. If you have no money and nowhere to go, Prisoners Abroad’s Resettlement Service can help with:

• advice on finding emergency accommodation in the London area
• claiming welfare benefits, including emergency benefit payments if you are destitute
• making appointments with doctors and dentists
• putting you in touch with local agencies if you are not returning to the London area

Later on, you may want advice on housing, looking for work, applying for training or getting counselling. Prisoners Abroad can refer you to the right agency.

Other sources of practical help back in the UK are: The Salvation Army

UK Helpline +44 (0)20 7367 4888

Monday to Friday 8am to 4pm, or contact your local Salvation Army branch The Prison Fellowship

UK Helpline +44 (0)20 7799 2500

Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm.

Your criminal record in the UK

We will not normally pass on information about your case to a third party without your consent. However, if you’re arrested for certain serious offences, such as child sex abuse or drugs crimes, our staff must tell other relevant UK authorities. It is possible that information about this may appear if a Criminal Records Bureau check were carried out by a prospective employer.

Chapter 4: Additional information

Prisoners Abroad

Since 1978 the charity Prisoners Abroad has offered practical support and advice to British citizens imprisoned abroad. It is the only UK charity providing this service. It is available to all, whether guilty or innocent, convicted or awaiting charge or trial. Prisoners Abroad supports your health and welfare during your imprisonment. It can also provide support on your return to the UK, through their resettlement service (if you have registered whilst in prison). They can also provide support and advice to your family when you are in prison.

To access any services, you must first register with Prisoners Abroad by signing and returning their authorisation form.

Once you seek help from Prisoners Abroad, the Prisoner & Family Support Service will be your point of contact for advice and information. The type of assistance they can offer varies from country to country, but generally they can provide you with information, in English, on:

• your rights as a prisoner

• issues that may affect you such as health or transfer to the UK

• getting magazines, newspapers, books and the regular Prisoners Abroad newsletter

• learning the language of your country of imprisonment

• translating documents

• grants for food if you are in a developing country and do not have funds from other sources

• grants for essential medicines and toiletries if you do not have funds from other sources

• preparing for release

• help for your loved ones, including information, family support groups and, in a few cases, assistance with the cost of visiting

• freepost envelopes to help you stay in touch with others

Prisoners Abroad 

UK Helpline +44 (0)20 7561 6820 or 0808 172 0098 

Mondays to Fridays 9:30am to 4:30pm (UK time) 

89 – 93 Fonthill Road 
London N4 3JH 
UK

Glossary of Terms

Useful legal terms

English	Azerbaijani
Criminal Code	Cinayət məcəlləsi
Detention	Saxlanma
Detainee	Saxlanılan
Search	Axtarış
Arrest	Həbs
Arrestee	Həbs olunan
Suspect	Şübhəli
Accused person	Təqsirləndirilən şəxs
Case	İş
Criminal case	Cinayət işi
Administrative case	İnzibati iş
Fine, penalty	Cərimə
Police	Polis
Prosecutor	Prokuror
Attorney, lawyer	Vəkil
Witness	Şahid
Translator, interpreter	Tərcüməçi
Defendant	Müdafiəçi
Plaintiff	Şikayətçi
Victim	Qurban
Judge	Hakim
Court chairman	Məhkəmə sədri
Trial, Court	Məhkəmə
Trial session	Məhkəmə prosesi
Investigator	Müstəntiq
Investigation	Araşdırma
Court’s decision	Məhkəmə qərarı
Convict	Məhkum
Prison	Həbsxana
Pre-trial detention facility	İstintaq təcridxanası
Temporary remand facility	Müvəqqəti saxlama yeri
Detainee	Məhbus
Charged	İttiham olunmaq
Convicted	Məhkum edilmiş
Bail	Zamin
Undertaking not to leave the country	Ölkəni tərk etməməklə bağlı öhdəlik
Penalty	Cəza
Affected person	Zərərçəkən
Consent	Razılıq
Clemency	Əfv
Appeal	Apelyasiya
Deportation	Deportasiya

Key phrases – English into Azerbaijani

English	Azerbaijani
Hello	Salam
Good bye	Xudahfiz
Yes	Bəli
No	Xeyir
1. Please/2. You’re welcome	1. Zəhmət olmasa 2. Dəyməz
1. Excuse me/2. Sorry	1. Üzr istəyirəm 2. Bağışlayın
Thank you	Təşəkkür edirəm
May I…?	Olarmı….?
Food	Ərzaq
Water	Su
I need help	Köməyə ehtiyacım var
I need to speak with …	Mən …..ilə danışmaq istəyirəm

Annex

FCDO guidance

Support for British nationals abroad

Arrested abroad: advice for British nationals

List of English-Speaking Lawyers

List of Private Translators/Interpreters

Prisoners Abroad Forms

https://www.prisonersabroad.org.uk/arrest-and-imprisonment