Oppositionist Alizamin Salaev goes on hunger strike

Alizamin Salaev, an activist of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan, has been on a hunger strike since July 7. Today, he has refused water in protest against his arrest on the charge of failure to obey the police, advocate Nemat Kerimli reports. Alizamin Salaev suffers from diabetes, and the hunger strike can harm his health, says Ogtai, a son of the oppositionist.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on July 7, Alizamin Salaev, the chair of the Salyan regional department of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), was arrested for 30 days. The oppositionist was found guilty of failure to obey the police.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), on July 7, Alizamin Salaev “violated public order while being in a state of alcoholic intoxication.” He wanted to hold a protest action in connection with the seizure of a car of his son Ogtai, who was fined for violating road traffic regulations, but did not pay the fine. Ogtai Salaev stated that the car was seized from him along with documents and jewelleries on June 29, but the documents and gold items worth about 500 US dollars were never returned to him.

One of Alizamin Salaev’s hunger strike demands is the return of jewelleries that he had given to his son for sale, advocate Nemat Kerimli reports. According to him, the hunger strike has already affected the health state of the oppositionist. “He looked very haggard, his speech was slow, and he moved hard,” the advocate said.

Seimur Khazi, the deputy chair of the PFPA, associates the arrest of Alizamin Salaev with his political and civic activities.

The “Caucasian Knot” has also reported that in 2019, Alizamin Salaev was arrested four times.