10 August 2019, 09:17
Azerbaijani rights defender stops hunger strike in colony
Aliabbas Rustamov, a rights defender, has stopped his hunger strike demanding conditional early relief (CER) on the 14th day of his protest. He made such a decision in connection with the postponement of the court session and the appeals of the public and his advocate, the journalist. Shakhveled Chobanoglu has informed.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported the lawyer, Aliabbas Rustamov, was detained under the article of bribe-giving back in June 2014. He was sentenced to seven years in prison; then, this sentence was reduced to six years. On July 25, 2019, he went on a hunger strike aiming to draw attention to his case.
Rustamov's relatives state that he was arrested after a complaint lodged by Ilham Mamedov, the head of the LLC "Prestige", who had claimed that Rustamov asked him for 95,000 manats (USD 120,000) for bribing a certain official. Aliabbas' relatives assert that Rustamov was defending Mamedov, accused of tax evasion.
"Rustamov said that he would continue his fght against injustice, corruption, and human rights violations," Mr Chobanoglu has stated.
Elshan Gasanov, the coordinator of the Union "For Freedom of Political Prisoners of Azerbaijan", treats the Rustamov's persecution as politically motivated.
"Prior to his arrest, Rustamov on the Facebook sharply criticized the authorities' policies; he participated in oppositional rallies ... On March 17, 2014, he published an open letter in all newspapers addressed to the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliev, in which he severely criticized officials. Aliabbas Rustamov is a political prisoner," Mr Gasanov gas stated.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 9, 2019 at 04:39 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: Faik Medjid Source: CK correspondent
