Talekh Bagirzade and his supporters end their hunger strike in Azerbaijani prisons

On the 20th day of his hunger strike, Talekh Bagirzade, the leader of the “Muslim Unity” Movement, stopped the protest action and called on his supporters to do the same.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on June 3, Talekh Bagirzade, the convicted leader of the “Muslim Unity” movement, went on a hunger strike, demanding to punish the law enforcers, who, according to supporters of the “Muslim Unity” movement, were blaspheming while torturing believers. By June 16, other 12 prisoners were participating in the hunger strike in solidarity with Talekh Bagirzade.

Today, Talekh Bagirzade has stopped his hunger strike and called on his supporters to do the same. His appeal was distributed by the “Muslim Unity” movement on the Facebook* page of Elchin Gasymov, the deputy chair of the movement. “Today, I stop my hunger strike, taking into account the appeals of well-known people respected in society, the problems that our courageous brothers in prisons have encountered as a result of this protest action, as well as the concern of their dear relatives,” Talekh Bagirzade said in his statement.

However, the leader of the “Muslim Unity” movement has emphasized that “the struggle does not stop.” “Peaceful protests will be held every Friday until those who insulted Allah are punished, until cases of torture and inhuman treatment by law enforcement agencies stop, and until those who commit this arbitrage are not brought to justice,” the Talekh Bagirzade’s statement emphasizes.

Today, the Talekh Bagirzade’s appeal has been conveyed to the hunger strikers through their family members, and by the evening, all the participants of the hunger strike in prisons and at large have stopped the protest action, Elchin Gasymov reports.

*On March 21, the Tverskoi Court of Moscow banned the activities in Russia of the Meta Company, owning Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, in connection with extremist activities.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 23, 2022 at 07:06 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.