Azerbaijan: parents of "Nida" activists intend to go on hunger strike on April 20

Starting from April 20, parents of detained and tried activists of the Azerbaijani "Nida" movement will go on hunger strike in protest against the prosecutor's demand to sentence their sons to long terms of imprisonment, ranging from 6.5 to 8.5 years. The parents believe that their sons are innocent and are being persecuted for political reasons.

Let us remind you that on April 17, Prosecutor Nemat Avazov asked the court to find the activists guilty on all points of the indictment and sentence Zaur Gurbanly, Rashadat Akhundov and Ilkin Rustamzade to 8.5 years; Rashad Gasanov, Bakhtiyar Guliev, Mamed Azizov – to 8 years; Uzeyir Mamedli – to 7.5 years; and Shakhin Novruzlu – to 6.5 years of imprisonment. In protest, the young men announced a hunger strike right in the courtroom and said that it will continue until they were released.

On April 18, the intention to go on hunger strike was announced by the young men's parents. Sakina Gurbanova, the mother of Zaur Gurbanly, said that today she talked with his son on the phone, and he said that all the activists continue their hunger strike in the Baku SIZO (pre-trial prison), situated in the village of Kyurdakhany. According to her story, the young men are still in their cells, not in the dungeon.