In Azerbaijan, journalist Fatullaev stops his hunger strike in hope for soon release

Journalist Einullah Fatullaev, imprisoned in Azerbaijan, has stopped his hunger strike announced on June 2 after he learnt that the President of the country knows about the decision of European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) about his release.

A respective appeal was sent to the President of Azerbaijan on June 4 by heads of five leading mass media of Azerbaijan and by the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS).

Having thanked his colleagues-journalists for support, defendant Fatullaev said at today's session of the court that two days after he had started his hunger strike at the Baku SIZO (pre-trial prison) he was visited by high-ranking officials of the Penitentiary Service, who confirmed that "the head of the state knows about his case and the decision of the ECtHR."

"When asked why I was not released, they answered that 'the procedure takes three months; and there's one month left for making decision on release'," said Fatullaev. The answer of the bosses of the Penitentiary Service satisfied the journalist, and he stopped his hunger strike.

In his turn, Mekhman Sadygov, head of the PR division of the Penitentiary Service, has rejected the fact that his bosses had ever visited Fatullaev at the Baku SIZO.