Defence treats Afghan Sadygov's health condition as critical

On the 50th day of his hunger strike, Afghan Sadygov, an Azerbaijani journalist, has stopped talking but refuses to stop his protest, his wife said.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on November 3, Afghan Sadygov was sentenced to seven years in prison. The next day he went on a hunger strike, and on November 23, he even refused to drink water.

On the 50th day of his hunger strike, the health condition of the journalist, Afghan Sadygov, remains extremely grave. "Afghan is in the medical unit of the Penitentiary Service in a very grave condition," his wife, Sevindj Sadygova, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to her story, she last saw her husband "five days ago." "Afghan even then could not move by himself; he spoke with difficulty. Today I spoke to the doctor of the medical unit of the Penitentiary Service. He said that Afghan had been having convulsions and joint pains for several days. Afghan can no longer speak and communicates with gestures. The doctor asked us to persuade him to end his hunger strike. But Afghan is a man of strict principles; he would listen to nobody and defend his demand to the end. His health condition is extremely grave; we can lose him at any time," Ms Sadygova has stated.

She is afraid that Afghan may not live to see the session of the court of appeal, which is scheduled for December 25.

Elchin Sadygov, an advocate, has confirmed that Afghan is in critical condition. "Afghan Sadygov is not able to be present in court. Most likely, the session will be held in video format. The problem is that he can no longer speak normally from the weakness as a result of his 50-day-long hunger strike," the advocate told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on December 21, 2020 at 09:43 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.