Azerbaijani oppositionist Salaev stops his hunger strike, police report

Oppositionist Alizamin Salaev had been refusing food for four days, after which he stopped the protest against his arrest, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) reported. Relatives of Alizamin Salaev have information that he did not stop the hunger strike, his son says.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on July 13, Alizamin Salaev, the chair of the Salyan regional department of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), announced in court that he had been on the hunger strike since July 7 in protest against his arrest on the charge of failure to obey the police. On July 14, Alizamin Salaev told his advocate that he had also refused water.

Today, the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent has been informed by Nizami Gamidov, the chief inspector of the regional group of the press service for the Azerbaijani MIA, that Alizamin Salaev had been refusing food from July 10 to 14, but then stopped his hunger strike. “Since July 14, Alizamin Salaev accepts food again, and there are no problems in his state of health,” Nizami Gamidov said, refraining from making any other comments.

Meanwhile, with reference to the information of a person having a relative employed at the Salyan regional police department, Ogtai Salaev, an activist’s son, told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent that Alizamin Salaev continued his hunger strike today. “We have been told that my father continues his hunger strike, his eyesight has weakened, and he began to experience problems while moving,” Ogtai Salaev said.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 18, 2022 at 05:42 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.