Bakhruz Samedov attempts to commit suicide in pre-trial prison after public prosecutor’s demand

Researcher Bakhruz Samedov, a postgraduate student at Charles University in the Czech Republic, has attempted to commit suicide at a pre-trial prison in protest against the term of imprisonment requested by a public prosecutor in a case on high treason. The pre-trial prison administration demanded from the activist to stop his dry hunger strike, which Bakhruz Samedov has been holding for three days.

The activist is well-known for his criticism of the Azerbaijani authorities, which he expressed in foreign publications. The defence believes that the activist’s “anti-war views” were the reason for his arrest. “This is also reflected in the case materials,” a defender noted earlier.

Activist Bakhruz Samedov, who is under arrest, has attempted to commit suicide in prison. His grandmother Zibeyda Osmanova states that Bakhruz Samedov has taken such a step in protest against the public prosecutor’s request to sentence the activist to 16 years of imprisonment, the “Meydan TV” reports today.

“Today at 11:00 a.m., I went to visit Bakhruz. We were not allowed to talk without their presence, and a prison employee stayed next to us the whole time. We talked in his presence for only ten minutes. Bakhruz said that after the public prosecutor’s speech in court, he decided to commit suicide. At the last moment, he was saved by his cellmate,” the activist’s grandmother stated as quoted by the “Meydan TV’ portal.

The activist’s grandmother has also noted that Bakhruz has been on his dry hunger strike for three days now. The woman stated that she and her grandson were taken to the head of Baku Pre-trial Detention Centre No. 1.

“The head told Bakhruz: ‘Don’t do this again and stop your hunger strike.’ And Bakhruz replied: ‘I’m not guilty of anything. Why are you sentencing me to 16 years of imprisonment? I will not stop my hunger strike,” said Zibeyda Osmanova.

Let us remind you that Article 274 “High Treason” of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan, which Bakhruz Samedov is charged with, provides for imprisonment for a term of twelve to twenty years or life imprisonment.

This was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 21, 2025 at 06:30 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.