IOAT to hold actions in defence of journalist Mushvig Guseinov

The International Organization Against Torture (IOAT) plans to hold protest actions demanding to release from imprisonment in Azerbaijan Mushvig Guseinov, a journalist of the employee of the newspaper "Bizim Yol" (Our Way), who suffers from tuberculosis. This is stated in the letter sent to the Azerbaijani Institute of Peace and Democracy (IPD).

"We plan to bring the information about Mr Guseinov's grave condition to the knowledge of the world community and ask international organizations to call Azerbaijani authorities to release the journalist," Leila Yunus, director of the IPD, quotes the IOAT letter to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Earlier, the international organization in defence of journalists "Reporters Without Borders" (RWB) called embassies of some foreign countries to influence the official Baku with the aim to release the heavily sick journalist Guseinov.

In reply to this appeal of the RWB, employees of a number of embassies opened in Baku held an emergency meeting and discussed the situation around the convicted Mushvig and how to help him.

Meanwhile, on December 8, at the specialized prison hospital for TB patients, Mushvig Guseinov was visited by Aflatun Amashev, head of the Board of the Press of Azerbaijan.

According to Mr Amashev, "special attention" is given to Guseinov's treatment and care. "Tuberculosis is a serious illness, but it's curable. The treatment continues, and physicians supervise the situation," Amashev asserts. Moreover, he is sure that the patient's condition improves.

Nevertheless, he said about his plans to appeal to the head of the state Ilham Aliev and ask him to pardon the journalist.