22:51, 2 September 2019

Azerbaijani journalist Ragimov complains about pressure in SIZO

The journalist, Ikram Ragimov, is on the 27th day of his hunger strike at the Baku SIZO (pre-trial prison). According to his relatives, he is pressed in custody to stop his protest action. However, the SIZO staff denies the pressure.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on June 12, a court in Baku sentenced Ikram Ragimov, the editor-in-chief of the "Realliq.info" website, to 5.5 years of imprisonment. On August 7, he went on a hunger strike, demanding an objective review of his appeal. Doctors from the Red Cross confirmed his grave condition, his cousin, Galib Gasanov said on August 30.

The journalist claims that special services began persecuting him after he criticized Ali Gasanov, the presidential assistant for political affairs. The "Union for the Freedom of Political Prisoners of Azerbaijan" has put Ragimov on the list of political prisoners.

"His condition is critical, he is exhausted ... He said that they threatened him with forced nutrition, but he threatened to injure himself. We persuaded him to stop the hunger strike, but he says that he will continue it until the justice is restored and he is released from jail," Galib Gasanov has stated.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 2, 2019 at 04:58 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Faik Medjid

Source: CK correspondent