Azerbaijani oppositionist Aliev goes on hunger strike in custody

Ali Aliev, the convicted leader of the Azeri oppositional "Party of Citizens and Development" (PCD), has gone on a hunger strike in protest against his indictment.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that two border guards – Colonel Emil Djafarov and Captain Ramin Adilov – had filed a libel lawsuit against Ali Aliev, the PCD chairman. On January 13, the court sentenced Aliev to five months in prison on Djafarov's lawsuit. On April 15, a court in Baku did the same in relation to Aliev on Adilov's lawsuit.

On May 27, the Yasamal District Court of Baku held a preparatory session on a new lawsuit filed against Ali Aliev by Ramiz Geyushev. During the next session on this case that was held on June 7, Ali Aliev announced that he was going on a hunger strike, his advocate, Djavad Djavadov, has announced.

"Ali Aliev is protesting against the third charge put forward against him. He believes that the charges are specially initiated in a row to extend his custody term. Ali Aliev believes that the lawsuits filed by private claimants are backed by local authorities who intend to punish him for criticism," the advocate has stated.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 7, 2022 at 08:29 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.