16 October 2019, 11:29
Journalists urge Azerbaijani authorities to release their colleague Afghan Mukhtarly
The advocate has stated health problems of Afghan Mukhtarly and called on the authorities to have mercy on him and other political prisoners. The founders of the Baku Press Club have joined this call.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on September 24, the journalist Mukhtarly was forced to stop his hunger strike, announced in protest against pressure on his advocate Nemat Kerimli. One of the reasons for the end of the hunger strike was a sharp deterioration of Afghan's health; his wife said that the journalist needs medical treatment.
In January 2018, Mukhtarly was sentenced to six years in prison for allegedly illegal crossing the border, smuggling, and resisting a state official.
In his Facebook, Nemat Kerimli has urged authorities to pardon Mukhtarly and other political prisoners on the occasion of the State Independence Day of Azerbaijan, celebrated on October 18.
The demand to release Mukhtarly was supported by Chingiz Ganizade, a rights defender and an MP of the National Assembly. He intends to appeal, jointly with a group of rights defenders, to the president asking him to pardon Mukhtarly.
In his turn, Iftikhar Gurbanov, a deputy head of the Chief Medical Department of the Ministry of Justice, denies that Mukhtarly has serious health problems.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 16, 2019 at 06:19 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: Faik Medjid Source: CK correspondent
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