Former US Ambassador to Azerbaijan Richard Kozlarich, in his microblog on Twitter, spoke in defense of the political prisoner Saleh Rustamov, who has been on a hunger strike in prison for 20 days.
“The Baku regime violates the rights of its citizens and acts with impunity. It is time for the United States to impose sanctions on those responsible for the arrest and detention of Rustamov. Washington has the tools. He must use them,” the ambassador said.
The reason for Rustamov’s hunger strike was illegal arrest and conviction, refusal to grant amnesty and confiscation of his family’s property. Lawyer Bahruz Bayramov called Rustamov’s health critical. Despite numerous appeals by human rights defenders, civil society activists, journalists to the authorities with an appeal to release Rustamov, there is no reaction.
The penitentiary service does not comment on Rustamov’s condition. In turn, the press service of the ombudsman’s office told Turan that the Rustamov case is in the center of attention of this structure.
Representatives of the ombudsman regularly visited Rustamov, said the head of the press service of the ombudsman’s office Emil Shahzade. Being asked about Saleh’s present health, the representative of the Ombudsman did not answer. According to him, Saleh Rustamov is in a medical institution, under the supervision of doctors and doctors who observe him can give information about his condition, Shahzade said.