Advocates demand to release Salekh Rustamov due to his illness

On December 6, the advocates of Salekh Rustamov, an activist, submitted their motion to the court demanding to set him free for health reasons; Salekh has been on his protest hunger strike at the prison hospital for the 31 days already.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on February 27, in Azerbaijan, Salekh Rustamov, a citizen of Russia, an activist of the Popular Front Party (PFPA), was sentenced to seven years and three months of imprisonment. Later, the Supreme Court (SC) reduced the sentence by two months. On November 6, Salekh Rustamov went on a hunger strike.

On December 7, Bakhruz Bairamov, an advocate, visited Rustamov at the Medical Institution of the Azerbaijani Penitentiary Service (prison hospital).

"Every time, it's very hard for me to look at Salekh Rustamov. Today is the 31st day of his hunger strike. He is simply dying before our eyes. He is already breathing with difficulty and faints several times a day. He is firm in his intent to go on a dry hunger strike and stated that it's by no means a threat or blackmail in order to achieve the fulfilment of his demand. According to his story, he simply can no longer endure severe pains because of which he cannot sleep," Mr Bairamov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

On the same day, Bakhruz Bairamov and Agil Laidj, another advocate, submitted a petition to the Nizami District Court demanding to release Rustamov before the end of his prison term for health reasons. As Mr Laidj explained to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, the defence justified its position by Article 78.2 of the Criminal Code, which assumes an inmate's exemption from punishment by a court ruling due to his grave illness.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on December 6, 2021 at 08:26 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.