23:25, 5 April 2018

Azerbaijani journalist Afghan Mukhtarly's health worsens

Afghan Mukhtarly. Photo: a fragment of the leaflets issued by the supporters of the Azerbaijani journalist https://www.irfs.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/afgan-mukhtarli.jpg

A petition was lodged to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Justice asking for a medical examination of the convicted journalist Afghan Mukhtarly, who complains of severe pains in the heart and lungs, his advocate has stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the Azerbaijani journalist Afghan Mukhtarly was kidnapped in Tbilisi on May 30, 2017, and brought to Baku. On January 12, the court sentenced him to six years in prison on charges of illegally crossing the border, smuggling and resisting a state official.

The USA, the European Union and the OSCE spoke out in defence of the journalist. The human rights organization Amnesty International recognized him as a "prisoner of conscience".

According Nemat Kerimli, his advocate, the examination results indicate Mukhtarly's serious lung disease.

"He also suffers from diabetes mellitus," said Ogtay Gyulyalyev, the head of the Public Alliance "Azerbaijan without Political Prisoners", has reminded.

He also noted that Mukhtarly "had experienced a family tragedy when his sister and two nephews died on the same day", and this negatively affected his health condition.

The appellate considerations of Mukhtarly's case are deliberately protracted, said Elchin Sadygov, another advocate for the journalist. Authorities want to postpone the decision-making until after the presidential election, when international observers leave the country, rights defenders assert.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.

Author: Faik Medjid

Source: CK correspondent