Polad Aslanov needed treatment after the hunger strike.

After a 20-day hunger strike, Azerbaijani journalist Polad Aslanov is experiencing new health problems and cannot eat prison food. His 13-year-old daughter has not attended school for the fourth week, as she refuses to remove her hijab.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on October 8, the convicted editor-in-chief of the online publications Xeberman.com and Press-az.com, Polad Aslanov, declared a hunger strike in colony No. 15 in protest against the violation of the rights of schoolgirls, including his daughter and teachers who wear hijabs. On October 20, he was hospitalized in a medical facility of the Penitentiary Service, and by October 26, Aslanov's weight had dropped to 43 kilograms, and the doctor warned him of the risk of coma. On October 29, the journalist's wife was denied a personal meeting with her husband, and on October 31, Polad Aslanov ended his protest due to a sharp deterioration in health.

After the hunger strike, Polad Aslanov developed swelling in his legs and itching all over his body, his wife told the correspondent of the “Caucasian Knot” after a phone call with him on November 5.

“Polad said that he had an X-ray and an ultrasound, the doctor prescribed him treatment and gave him medication to protect his stomach. The doctor said that the itching occurred because Polad improperly fed himself after the hunger strike: he ate prison gruel, while he should have started with light food – porridge, yogurt. Packages with food for Polad are accepted from us only once a month, so we could not deliver the necessary food to him immediately after the hunger strike,” said Gülmira Aslanova.

She added that two other believers who conducted a hunger strike, Zeynal Bayramov and Fuad Alekserov, were transferred from solitary cells to a common one, and now they are being held together. Polad Aslanov, according to his wife, is still weak.

“Polad was told that starting tomorrow (November 6), they will begin to give him intravenous drips with vitamins, but whether they will do this or not, I do not know. An international human rights organization sent a letter to the ombudsman’s office regarding Polad's health condition and violations of his rights,” continued Gülmira Aslanova.

The correspondent of the “Caucasian Knot” was unable to obtain comments from the Penitentiary Service of Azerbaijan regarding Polad Aslanov's condition.

The journalist's wife noted that their 13-year-old daughter still cannot attend school due to the hijab ban. Aslanova is looking for opportunities for her daughter to study online from home and recently contacted the Ministry of Science and Education of Azerbaijan regarding distance learning.

“I called the ministry's hotline on November 3 and reported that because my daughter is not allowed to school, I registered her for distance learning at Flex Academy, whose central office is in Canada. I wanted to know if the Ministry of Education recognizes this education. They made me wait for 10 minutes, then said they had referred my question 'upstairs' and promised to respond to the request on November 4,” she said.

On November 4, representatives of the Ministry of Science and Education informed her that nine-year education is “mandatory,” and “distance learning is not recognized in Azerbaijan.”

“We are told that the child must complete nine grades, and only in grades 10-11 can children be taken and sent to study wherever we want, but they will not receive a certificate of complete secondary education. In fact, the state is violating our children's rights to education,” Aslanova stated.