Relatives of hunger-striking journalist Ragimov report his health worsening

Ikram Ragimov, an Azerbaijani journalist, who is holding a hunger strike at SIZO (pre-trial prison), is in extremely grave condition, his relatives have stated after visiting him.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on June 12, a court in Baku found Ikram Ragimov, the editor-in-chief of the "Realliq.info" website, guilty of extortion, and sentenced him to 5.5 years in prison. The verdict was appealed against; and the Baku Court of Appeal (BCA) appointed the consideration of the complaint on the merits for August 21. Ragimov, who went on a hunger strike on August 7, demands an objective review of his appeal at the BCA.

Last weekend, Ikram Ragimov's relatives were waiting for his call, but the journalist failed to phone home, his cousin, Galib Gasanov, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent on August 19.

"In the morning on Monday (August 19), we called the SIZO's deputy head, who confirmed that Ikram was holding his hunger strike, and his condition was not good. We asked for a permit to visit him. In the afternoon, we were allowed to visit Ikram," said Gasanov.

According to the cousin, Ikram Ragimov had low blood tension and sharp pains in his stomach. He continues losing his body weight, his condition is grave, "even critical," the cousin has emphasized.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 20, 2019 at 05:35 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.