Azerbaijani rights defenders support demand to release Elchin Mamed

Elchin Mamed, a human rights defender and journalist, who has gone on a hunger strike in an Azerbaijani jail demanding his release, was isolated from other prisoners, his mother has informed. There are all signs of falsification in Mamed's case, human rights defenders insist.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on May 3, Mamed went on a hunger strike demanding his release. On May 10, after rights defenders' request to pardon him, he stopped his hunger strike. On June 27, prior to considering applications for CER (conditional early relief), Mamed resumed his hunger strike, as he does not believe in court fairness.

His mother, Rakhilya Mamedova, said that Elchin renounces Azerbaijani citizenship and asks for political asylum in one of European countries. She is also concerned about her son's health because he has serious illnesses.

Mamed has served two years and three months in jail, and is legally eligible for the CER, Fariz Namazly, his advocate, has explained.

Elshan Gasanov, the head of the Centre for Monitoring Political Prisoners, is convinced that Mamed had been convicted on trumped-up charges because of his human rights activities. In Azerbaijan, charges of illegal weapon possession are often used against authorities' critics, Mr Gasanov has concluded.