Rights defenders call for release of Azerbaijani activist Rustamov

The Norwegian Helsinki Committee (NHC) has called on Azerbaijani authorities to immediately release Salekh Rustamov, an activist who is on a long hunger strike from jail.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on February 27, the court sentenced Salekh Rustamov, a Russian citizen, to seven years and three months in prison. On November 6, he went on a hunger strike; and on the sixth day thereof, his health condition worsened. The NGO "Defence Line" called on the President of Azerbaijan to help in releasing Rustamov. The activist's relatives persuaded him not to go on a dry hunger strike.

"Salekh Rustamli (Rustamov), one of the most prominent political prisoners in Azerbaijan, has been on a hunger strike in prison for more than a week demanding his release ... By protesting against his politically motivated conviction, Rustamli said he would continue his hunger strike until he dies or is released," says the NHC's statement posted on the Facebook.

The authors of the statement believe that Rustamov was convicted on false charges, which the Azerbaijani authorities often use to arrest their critics.

"After the arrest, law enforcers kept Rustamov incommunicado for 17 days and denied access of an advocate to him for a month. At the trial, he told how he was severely beaten up during interrogations and pressured to force him to confess," human rights defenders have stated.