Mukhtarly's wife demands his treatment after hunger strike

The Azerbaijani journalist, Afghan Mukhtarly, needs medical care after his hunger strike in jail, but is ready to resume his protest, his wife has stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on September 24, Afghan Mukhtarly, who serves his term in colony, was forced to end his hunger strike, which he held in protest against the pressure exerted on his advocate Nemat Kerimli. One of the reasons to stop the hunger strike was a sharp deterioration of his health.

Afghan's wife, Leyla Mustafaeva, a political emigrant, has reported the deteriorating health of her husband and his need of medical care.

"Afghan has called me today and said that on the third day of hunger strike he felt severe pains in his eyes. Therefore, yesterday (on September 24, – note of the "Caucasian Knot"), he was forced to stop his hunger strike. He still has severe pains in his eyes; he needs an urgent medical examination and treatment," Ms Mustafaeva told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Concern about Mukhtarly's state of health was also expressed by the international organization "Reporters Without Borders" (RWB). Thus, in his September 24 statement, Johan Bir, the head of the RWB's representative office in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, blamed the Azerbaijani authorities for Mukhtarly's fate.

"We urge the Azerbaijani government to urgently release (Mukhtarly); otherwise we'll do everything possible so that international sanctions were applied to all those involved in the persecution," says the RWB's statement.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 25, 2019 at 10:37 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.