11:37, 14 December 2019

Fund-raising marathon in support of Gyulyalyev held in Baku

Ogtai Gyulyalyev. Photo: screenshot https://toplum.tv, https://toplum.tv/az/oktay-gulaliyev-6-ildir-umumvetendas-pasportu-ala-bilmir/#.Xemgli3VKUk

Public and political activists, party leaders, lawyers, journalists and ordinary citizens have taken part in the campaign to raise funds in support of the human rights defender, Ogtai Gyulyalyev, who fell victim to a road accident.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on November 6, Ogtai Gyulyalyev, the coordinator of the Committee against Repression and Torture, was transferred to an Istanbul clinic. His treatment is paid by the Geidar Aliev Fund. On December 12, Ogtai's wife informed that doctors had noticed a positive trend in his health condition.

On October 29, after a press conference, where he spoke about the plan of a campaign against torture, Ogtai Gyulyalyev was hit by a car. Oppositionists and rights defender have suggested that he was attacked intentionally.

"We'll do our best to support Ogtai Gyulyalyev's family until his recovery," the "Turan" News Agency quotes Rufat Safarov, the initiator of fundraising and a former political prisoner, as saying.

On December 21, 2015, searches were conducted in the office of Rufat Safarov and in his apartment. Safarov believed that they were caused by his resignation petition in disagreement with the policies of the Azerbaijani government. On September 8, 2016, Safarov was sentenced to 9 years in prison on charges of a repeated bribe taking. In March 2019, he was pardoned.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on December 14, 2019 at 06:16 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.