Tofig Yagublu's hunger strike was a reaction to his imprisonment in a solitary confinement cell.

Azerbaijani opposition politician Tofig Yagublu has been placed in solitary confinement. The politician's daughter links the punishment to her brother's participation in a protest in Washington, D.C., outside the hotel where the Azerbaijani president was staying. In protest, Yagublu went on a hunger strike.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," Tofig Yagublu is a member of the coordinating center of the National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF) and the Musavat Party. On March 10, 2025, a court sentenced him to nine years in prison, finding him guilty of fraud and document forgery. Yagublu denied the charges and stated that his persecution was politically motivated. On May 20, 2025, the appeals court upheld the verdict. There is no evidence of Yagublu's guilt in the case, the defense claimed, demanding an acquittal.

 Yagublu has been placed in solitary confinement for 7 days, his daughter Nigar Hazi reported.

"Today (February 25), according to the schedule established in the pretrial detention center, my father was supposed to call. Usually, he calls between 10 and 11 a.m. However, there was no call, and this caused alarm. In the afternoon, my father's lawyer, Nemat Kerimli, went to Baku Pretrial Detention Center No. 1 and discovered that my father had already been in solitary confinement for three days," Hazi told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The reason given for Yagublu's punishment was an attempt to prevent guards from conducting an inspection of his cell.

"This is a lie. Last Sunday, during a visit, my father told me that someone came to his cell to search him, came, checked, and then left," the politician's daughter continued.

She noted that Yagublu had declared a hunger strike.

"Lawyer Nemat Kerimli reported that my father looked emaciated. My father is protesting his unjustified confinement in solitary confinement and the illegal sentence imposed on him with his hunger strike. "My father also protests the fact that the US Embassy in Azerbaijan and the US administration in general are blatantly turning a blind eye to human rights violations," Hazi emphasized.

In her view, Yagublu's placement in solitary confinement is revenge by the Azerbaijani authorities for the protest held in Washington by Azerbaijani political émigrés in front of the hotel where President Ilham Aliyev was staying.

"My brother, Rahim Yagublu, also participated in this protest. Now, for this action, which has caused an international stir and is being reported in the world media, the authorities have decided to take revenge on Tofig Yagublu and other political prisoners," she said.

Hazi expressed concern for her father's health.

"My father's health is already undermined as a result of numerous arrests and hunger strikes, and he simply may not be able to withstand another hunger strike," Hazi noted.

Lawyer Nemat Kerimli confirmed to a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent the information about Yagublu's placement in solitary confinement, his hunger strike, and his demands.

The Penitentiary Service could not be reached for comment.

Earlier, on May 10, 2025, at the request of his relatives, Yagublu agreed to end a 40-day hunger strike he was conducting in protest against his nine-year sentence for fraud. Yagublu had also previously gone on hunger strikes several times, according to a biographical edit posted on the "Caucasian Knot."