23:36, 23 January 2019

Political prisoners stop hunger strike in Azerbaijan

Bottled water at the office of the "Musavat" Party where the political prisoners held a hunger strike. Photo by Aziz Karimov for the "Caucasian Knot"

The six oppositionists, who held a hunger strike in Azerbaijani colonies, demanding to release the blogger Mekhman Guseinov and other political prisoners, have stopped their protest. They explained this decision by the closure of the case against Guseinov and the public outcry, which they managed to achieve by their hunger strike.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 22, 19 activists, who held their hunger strike at the office of the "Musavat" Party, also stopped their action.

Today, the imprisoned activists Ilkin Rustamzade, Giyas Ibragimov, Bairam Mamedov, Orkhan Bakhyshly, the journalist Elchin Ismailly and Akhsan Nuruzade, the coordinator of the Muslim Unity Movement, have stopped their hunger strike, the mother of Giyas Ibragimov said.

"The struggle for the freedom of political prisoners is not over. We continue straining efforts to free our children and find true freedom for our people," Zafar Akhmedov, the coordinator of the Centre for Political Prisoners' Families, has stated.

Mekhman Guseinov himself went on a hunger strike on December 26, 2018, to protest against the criminal case initiated shortly before his release from prison.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 23, 2019 at 05:27 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Faik Medjid

Source: CK correspondent