Salekh Rustamov. Photo from his account on Facebook

16 November 2021, 23:50

Rights defenders call for release of Azerbaijani activist Rustamov

The Norwegian Helsinki Committee (NHC) has called on Azerbaijani authorities to immediately release Salekh Rustamov, an activist who is on a long hunger strike from jail.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on February 27, the court sentenced Salekh Rustamov, a Russian citizen, to seven years and three months in prison. On November 6, he went on a hunger strike; and on the sixth day thereof, his health condition worsened. The NGO "Defence Line" called on the President of Azerbaijan to help in releasing Rustamov. The activist's relatives persuaded him not to go on a dry hunger strike.

"Salekh Rustamli (Rustamov), one of the most prominent political prisoners in Azerbaijan, has been on a hunger strike in prison for more than a week demanding his release ... By protesting against his politically motivated conviction, Rustamli said he would continue his hunger strike until he dies or is released," says the NHC's statement posted on the Facebook.

The authors of the statement believe that Rustamov was convicted on false charges, which the Azerbaijani authorities often use to arrest their critics.

"After the arrest, law enforcers kept Rustamov incommunicado for 17 days and denied access of an advocate to him for a month. At the trial, he told how he was severely beaten up during interrogations and pressured to force him to confess," human rights defenders have stated.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on November 16, 2021 at 01:00 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Faik Medjid Source: CK correspondent

Комментирование через Кавказский узел
All news
НАСТОЯЩИЙ МАТЕРИАЛ (ИНФОРМАЦИЯ) ПРОИЗВЕДЕН И РАСПРОСТРАНЕН ИНОСТРАННЫМ АГЕНТОМ ООО “МЕМО”, ЛИБО КАСАЕТСЯ ДЕЯТЕЛЬНОСТИ ИНОСТРАННОГО АГЕНТА ООО “МЕМО”.

March 20, 2025 22:48

March 20, 2025 22:15

March 20, 2025 20:40

March 19, 2025 22:40

  • Stand-up comedian from Yeysk accused of insulting SMO fighter

    A criminal case was opened against Artemy Ostanin, a stand-up comedian from the city of Yeysk, after his performance in which he joked about a disabled person who had stepped on a mine. Investigators saw his words as an insult to a participant in the special military operation (SMO), but Ostanin himself claims that he was joking about a simple beggar.

March 19, 2025 22:24

  • Georgian journalist Amaglobeli fined for insulting policeman

    A judge has obliged Mziya Amaglobeli, the founder of “Batumelebi” and “Netgazeti” outlets, to pay a fine within an administrative case of insulting a police officer. At the hearing on the criminal case of the attack on the police officer, the journalist's defence demanded to challenge the judge, but the motion was dismissed.

News archive
Пн
Вт
Ср
Чт
Пт
Сб
Вс
24
25
26
27
28
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6