Emin Sagiev's doctor urges him to end hunger strike

On the 13th day of his hunger strike, Emin Sagiev, an Azerbaijani political prisoner, needed medical help. The doctor urged Sagiev to stop the action, saying that he would not be able to help him otherwise, Aigun Sagieva, Emin's wife, has informed.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in October 2018, Emin Sagiev (Shagiev), a relative of the journalist, Tyurkel Azertyurk, was sentenced to seven years in prison on charges of drug dealing. Azertyurk believes that his relative is persecuted because of his journalistic activities in oppositional mass media abroad. After the refusal of the Supreme Court (SC) of Azerbaijan to satisfy the cassation complaint against the verdict, on August 18, 2020, Sagiev announced a hunger strike insisting on his innocence and demanding his release.

Emin Sagiev has been on hunger strike for 13 days in the colony, Aigun Sagieva told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent on August 31.

"Emin's heart and kidney pains worsened a few days ago. Today he felt really bad. They called for a doctor, who told Emin that if he did not stop the hunger strike, he would not be able to help him," Ms Sagieva has stated.

She believes that her husband is persecuted because of the oppositional journalistic activities of Tyurkel Azertyurk, who is her sister's husband. "Emin committed no crime. He's been kept in jail for three years for no reason. He still has four years of his term left. Emin said that he is all the same doomed to a slow death in jail; therefore, he intends to continue his hunger strike to the end," Aigun Sagieva has concluded.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 1, 2020 at 03:10 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.