Azerbaijani citizens evacuated from Turkey complain of cold, hunger and even beatings
More than a hundred people have been quarantined in military barracks
Students and other Azerbaijani citizens evacuated from Turkey due to the coronavirus pandemic have been quarantined in the autonomous republic of Nakhchivan and complain of terrible conditions of detention, threats and even beatings.
Most of the evacuees were placed in military barracks.
“No food, no drink, no tap water. 90 beds for 159 people. It is very cold at night, some of us have already caught a cold”, the BBC Azerbaijani service quoted some evacuees as saying.
According to official data, as of the afternoon of March 27, 122 cases of coronavirus infection were recorded in Azerbaijan. Three of the infected have died, fifteen recovered.
“There are soldiers standing at the door. But we are not under arrest. When we try to object, they take away phones and passports from us or even take them to the basement,” reports Azadliq Radio, citing a student evacuee.
Some of the evacuees were placed in the building of a physiotherapeutic sanatorium, but even there, they say, the conditions are no better.
Social media users reported that in response to protests at least one of the students was severely beaten.
There are no official comments yet. But this is by no means the first time that people quarantined in Azerbaijan complain about poor conditions and poor sanitation. And the head of the presidential administration’s department, Hikmet Hajiyev, said the other day that “no one should consider that he has been quarantined for vacation and free tourism opportunities have been created for them.”
