07:17, 11 September 2020

Azerbaijani rights defenders urge to revise Tofig Yagublu's case

Tofig Yagublu. Photo by Aziz Karimov for the "Caucasian Knot"

A group of human rights defenders has called on President of Azerbaijan to influence the revision of Tofig Yagublu's petition for release and cancel his arrest.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on September 2, the oppositionist, Tofig Yagublu, called the trial biased and went on a hunger strike. He was sentenced to four years and three months in prison.

According to Novella Djafaroglu, a member of the Human Rights Joint Working Group (JWG), a new trial is needed that will release the oppositionist.

"We ask, taking into account the threat to his life in connection with the hunger strike, to revise his case promptly," Avaz Gasanov, the head of the Society for Humanitarian Studies, has added.

In 2014, the Council of Europe and the Azerbaijani authorities agreed to re-establish the above JWG with the aim of freeing the inmates whom human rights defenders treat as political prisoners.

Let us remind you that on September 9, the Human Rights House called on the Azerbaijani authorities to release political prisoners, including Yagublu. Repressions, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, continue in the country.

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

Author: Faik Medjid

Source: CK correspondent