Doctors treat health condition of Azerbaijani activist, Salekh Rustamov, as critical

On the 28th day of his hunger strike in an Azerbaijani jail, Salekh Rustamov is fainting and has memory problems; he lost 17 kilos of body weight, his advocate has informed.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on November 6, Salekh Rustamov, an activist of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), went on a hunger strike in protest against the fact that he had not been covered by the announced amnesty. On the 29th day of his hunger strike, he announced his intention to switchover to a dry hunger strike. On November 30, a number of Azerbaijani political parties demanded the release of Rustamov.

Bakhruz Bairamov, an advocate, has noted that "the capacities of Rustamov's body are running out." He is injected with vitamins, but this can work up to a certain limit; and this limit, according to doctors, is already approaching.

On December 1, the police disrupted an action in defence of Rustamov; 40 people were detained. The PFPA has claimed that some of the detainees were beaten by law enforcers. Five people were arrested for the terms ranging from 15 to 30 days.

The meeting with the Azerbaijani President's assistant, which was sought by the members of the monitoring group of Azerbaijani human rights organizations, has not yet taken place, Novella Djafaroglu, a human rights defender, has reported.

"We believe that Salekh Rustamov should be released taking into account his merits in protecting the country's territorial integrity during the first Karabakh war, and the fact that he has a disabled son under his care," Ms Djafaroglu has explained.