Azeri JusticeMaker Continues to Press for Prisoners Rights
Posted by rasul at November 10th, 2010
Rasul Jafarov, JusticeMaker 2010 from Azerbaijan, continues work on his innovative project to inform prisoners and their families about their rights to early release. The message, which is being spread through a telephone hotline, provides citizens whose relatives are in jail with information about the early release mechanism. Hoping to increase citizen’s awareness of his project, Rasul is conducting an advertising drive for the hotline. He is placing announcements in newspapers and online TV programs to spread the message.
To complement the hotline, Rasul has also committed to organising trainings for individuals with incarcerated relatives. The trainings will give them the knowledge and tools to help their family members who may be in prison and unaware of their legal options.
Concurrently, Rasul continues his efforts to negotiate with the Penitentiary Services to arrange trainings for prisoners (http://justicemakers.ibj.org/2010/09/a-missed-opportunity-for-effective-legal-advice-2/). Rasul and his team of experts approached the head of penitentiary services in Azerbaijan, Nazim Alakbarov, for permission to provide education about the early release mechanism to inmates. The request was again denied but Rasul and his team remain committed to the project. The team is therefore exploring all possible avenues for future cooperation with the penitentiary services. An action plan of next steps will draw inspiration from domestic and international legislation for a program all parties can support.
