The number of repeat offenses has increased in Azerbaijan
Repeat offenses in Azerbaijan
Last year, the number of cases of re-offending by former prisoners after release increased in Azerbaijan, as stated in a report by the State Statistics Committee (SSC) for 2022.
According to the report, most of the crimes were committed by people who had previously been convicted:
“In 2022, the number of such people amounted to 6,811. In 2015-2019, the number was about 3,000 people. Since 2020 the number of repeat offenses has been increasing every year.”
Repeat offenses are mostly related to drug trafficking.
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Afgan Mukhtarli, a former political prisoner now living in Germany, says that during his imprisonment he did not witness any work related to the correction of convicts.
In 2017 Mukhtarli was sentenced to 6 years in prison on charges of “illegal crossing of the state border” and “smuggling.” In 2020 he was released by decision of the Surakhani District Court. He was sent into forced migration. Local and international human rights organizations recognized him as a political prisoner.
According to Mukhtarli, educational affairs are almost totally neglected in prison:
“I spent 3 years in prison, including a year in the isolation center and 2 years in the colony. While in prison, prisoners did not receive any support on the path of correction. A correctional program exists formally. However, this program is not actually implemented in any prison.
Another problematic issue is that the employment of convicts is not solved. Forced labor is prohibited in the prison, but it is also inaccessible for those willing to work. Prisoners are not trained in professions,” he says in an interview with Abzas Media.
Human rights activist Zafar Ahmadov said the main reason why former prisoners reoffend after leaving prison is socio-economic problems. Wrong ideas acquired during imprisonment also play a role, he said:
“There are several reasons why people who come out of prison re-offend: socio-economic, their criminalization in prison, post-prison adaptation problems, and finally, the lack of implementation of correctional programs in prison.
It seems to me that post-release recidivism is largely due to socioeconomic reasons. When the environment they enter is bad, the socio-economic difficulties make them commit the same acts,” he told Abzas Media.
Ahmadov said the number of inmates is another problem that is bad for the conduct of a normal correctional program in the institutions. He said the number of convicts in Azerbaijan’s prisons exceeds the established norms:
“According to the legislation, 1,250 people can be held in general- and strict-regime correctional facilities, 400 people in special-regime facilities, 250 people in regional facilities, and 800 people in detention centers. However, it is impossible or very difficult to comply with these norms in our country. According to official data, about 24 thousand people were convicted in Azerbaijan till the middle of this year. It is impossible to place so many people in the available institutions.
In other countries, when prisoners are placed in institutions, they are usually divided into categories. For example, criminals who do not pose a special threat to society are not kept together with professional criminals. Since we have a large number of convicts, this requirement is also not enforced. A young man accused of some simple crime gets into an environment of professional criminals and is influenced by them. As a result, he may continue on the same path even after his release.”
However, Akhmedov still believes that the main problem lies in the issue of socio-economic and social adaptation:
“There are very serious shortcomings in the social adaptation of former convicts on the outside. Finding employment is extremely difficult. Even after they leave prison, their criminal record remains with them for several more years. Employers require a certificate of criminal record. When they see that the certificate shows a criminal record, they do not hire them. A person wants to get married and have a family and children. But how to do all this without a job? All these problems lead him to commit a crime again.”
