19:29, 20 May 2026

Babali and Gasimov ended their hunger strike in an Azerbaijani prison colony.

Imprisoned investigative journalist Hafiz Babali and economist Fazil Gasimov have ended their hunger strike, believing it has partially achieved its goals.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," on May 11, economist Fazil Gasimov and journalist Hafiz Babali, on behalf of the "Committee for the Defense of Political Prisoners" created in the prison, proposed that the UN demand the release of prisoners of conscience in connection with the World Urban Forum in Baku. On May 17, they announced a hunger strike.

The 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13), organized by the UN, is taking place from May 17–22 in the capital of Azerbaijan. The forum, organized with the participation of the Azerbaijani government, was dedicated to the problems of sustainable urbanization. It brought together representatives of local and regional government, academic and business circles, public organization leaders, urban planners, and NGO staff.

Fazil Gasimov and Hafiz Babali ended their hunger strike today, their relatives reported. “Fazil was on a dry hunger strike and was placed in solitary confinement. His condition seriously worsened during the four days of the protest. But today he was informed that a hearing on his complaint had been scheduled in the Narimanov District Court of Baku. After that, he ended his hunger strike, apparently due to the fulfillment of one of his demands,” a relative of Gasimov told the Caucasian Knot correspondent.

He has no information on whether the imprisoned economist is receiving medical care. "The prison representative said Fazil is under medical observation, but didn't provide any details," the source noted.

Gasimov demanded that the decision to remove his defense attorney, Eldar Gadimli, from the criminal case be overturned, as he believes it was based on a forged statement. Fazil is also demanding a special ruling against the investigator who falsified the document. In a statement sent to the Plenum of the Supreme Court, Gasimov stated that the police officers who testified in his case knowingly committed perjury. He asks that these circumstances be considered newly discovered, that the decision of the Baku Court of Appeal be overturned, that the criminal case be dismissed on exonerating grounds, or that the case be returned to the trial court for retrial.

Today, Hafiz Babali also ended his hunger strike. "Hafiz called today and announced that he was ending his hunger strike. The goal was to draw international attention to the cases of political prisoners in Azerbaijan in connection with the World Urban Forum being held in Baku. The hunger strike generated some resonance, and several media outlets wrote about it. The action partially achieved its goal," a relative of Babali told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"Of course, Hafiz's health has worsened." However, he said there were no serious problems,” the source noted.

The "Caucasian Knot" also reported that six prisoners at Colony No. 2 in Baku announced on November 24, 2025, the creation of a "Committee for the Defense of Political Prisoners." The decision to establish such a group was made given that human rights and freedom violations in Azerbaijan "have reached a critical level and become systematic," according to a statement released by the initiative. The statement was signed by investigative journalist Hafiz Babali, economist Fazil Gasimov, trade union activist Afiyaddin Mammadov, former political emigrant Samir Ashurov, activist Lachin Veliyev, and member of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan Mehman Aliyev. Following the announcement of the organization's creation, the members of the Committee for the Defense of Political Prisoners faced pressure, threats, and obstacles in communicating with their families.

Translated automatically via Google translate from https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/423408