Over 44,000 US dollars raised for treatment of Azerbaijani oppositionist Mekhman Guseinov

Doctors diagnosed with cancer Mekhman Guseinov, an Azerbaijani blogger and oppositionist, and almost 76,800 US dollars are to be raised for his medical treatment, his brother reports. Human rights defenders supported the announced fundraising. They associated the Mekhman Guseinov's health state with his arrests and imprisonment.

According to the website "gofundme.com", till present, the activists managed to raise more than 44,070 US dollars.

According to Emin Guseinov, a brother of the blogger, Mekhman Guseinov is undergoing medical treatment in Switzerland and has great chances to defeat his disease if he begins treatment as soon as possible.

Emin Guseinov has noted that over the past eight years, the Azerbaijani authorities have repeatedly tortured and illegally detained his brother, which caused irreversible damage to his health.

On his Facebook page, Ali Kerimli, the leader of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), called on his followers to help Mekhman Guseinov.

"Mekhman is an honest and courageous blogger. He is an advocate of truth and justice. At his young age, he was already subjected to arrests, abuses, and persecution," noted Jamil Gasanli, the leader of the National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF) of Azerbaijan.

Elshan Gasanov, the head of the Centre for Monitoring Political Prisoners, treats the campaign for the support of Mekhman Guseinov as unprecedented.