Heads of some NGOs, human rights groups and media bodies appealed to the President of Azerbaijan with a request to release the former head of the Gadabey region, a veteran of the first Karabakh war Saleh Rustamov.
They refer to Rustamva’s merits in the movement for the independence of Azerabajan, the protection of the territorial integrity of the country, his exceptional contribution to the Bashkend operation in 1992 and the protection of border villages in the Gadabey region.
As a result of Rustamov’s hunger strike that lasted for more than 10 days demanding release from prison, he faced serious health problems.
“The current situation creates a serious risk for Rustamov’s life and increases the risk of his death,” the appeal says.
Also, they point out that Rustamov’s son has been suffering from kidney failure for 20 years.
The authors of the appeal ask the President to release Rustamov from serving the remaining sentence.
The appeal was signed by human rights activists Novella Jafaroglu, Saida Gojamanly, Saadat Bananyarly, Avaz Hasanov, Mehriban Zeynalova, Chingiz Ganizade, representatives of the media community Mehman Aliyev, Gulu Maharramli, Arif Aliyev and others, a total of 21 people.
* PPFA supporter Saleh Rustamov was arrested in May 2018 and sentenced to 7 years and 3 months of imprisonment in the so-called case of “illegal financing of PPFA”. Human rights activists recognized him as a political prisoner. Subsequently, the Supreme Court reduced the sentence by 2 months. Since the sixth of November, he has been on an unlimited hunger strike demanding his release.