On May 6, the Baku Court of Appeal held a hearing on the appeal of opposition politician Tofig Yagublu, who was sentenced to 9 years in prison. Yagublu, a member of the Musavat Party and the National Council, has been on a hunger strike since April 1\u2014now in its 36th day\u2014demanding his release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court session was presided over by Judge Zamin Ibrahimov. Yagublu’s lawyers submitted a petition requesting that he be placed under house arrest due to his rapidly deteriorating health. They emphasized that the decision was a \u201cmatter of life and death.\u201d Lawyers Nemat Karimli, Aqil Layij, and Fakhreddin Mehdiyev all highlighted the humanitarian urgency of Yagublu\u2019s condition, stressing his frailty after more than a month without food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite this, the judge rejected the petition and scheduled the next hearing for May 20. During the hearing, Yagublu was visibly weak and unable to stand. He was brought into the courtroom by Penitentiary Service officers and required assistance to sit. His body trembled throughout the session, and he struggled to hold his head upright. Due to a malfunctioning microphone and his faint voice, attendees had to relay his words to the judge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A significant police presence was deployed outside the courthouse. After the hearing, Yagublu\u2019s daughter, Nigar Hezi, spoke to journalists, saying, \u201cThe deployment of so many police officers shows just how much the authorities fear Tofig Yagublu.\u201d Ali Karimli, chairman of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party, added, \u201cTofig Yagublu is unlikely to survive until May 20. Before our very eyes, a man as strong as a mountain is wasting away, perishing, sacrificing himself for freedom and justice.\u201d Both Hezi and Karimli were later forced away from the courthouse by police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tofig Yagublu was arrested in December 2023. On March 10, 2024, the Baku Serious Crimes Court found him guilty of large-scale fraud and document forgery and sentenced him to 9 years in prison. Yagublu rejects the charges as fabricated and politically motivated. He is widely regarded as a prisoner of conscience and has been one of the most vocal critics of the Aliyev family, who have ruled Azerbaijan for 32 years. Over the course of his political career, Yagublu has been arrested eight times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is not Yagublu\u2019s first hunger strike. On March 22, 2020, he launched a 17-day hunger strike in protest of a previous arrest. Due to the decline in his health at that time, his 4-year and 3-month prison sentence was eventually converted into a suspended sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On May 5, a protest was held in front of the Azerbaijani Embassy in Washington, D.C., by a group of Azerbaijani expatriates demanding freedom for Tofig Yagublu and all political prisoners. Slogans included: \u201cFreedom for Tofig Yagublu!\u201d, \u201cDon\u2019t kill, release!\u201d, and \u201cFreedom for all political prisoners!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
7 may, lawyer Fakhraddin Mehdiyev met with Tofiq Yaqublu, a member of the National Council and the Musavat Party, who has been on a hunger strike for 37 days in protest of his imprisonment, at the Ministry of Justice\u2019s medical facility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lawyer stated that Tofiq Yaqublu\u2019s condition is very serious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The dangerous thing is that Tofiq Yaqublu cannot even drink water anymore. According to him, he even vomits the water he drinks. He was brought to the meeting with the help of staff. He is completely unable to move on his own. He cannot speak. His speech is very slow. His eyes are weak. He complains a lot about stomach pains. He suffers from frequent headaches and dizziness. There is a rapid weight loss; he has dropped to 76 kg 200 grams.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lawyer emphasized that medical intervention is essential for Tofiq Yaqublu\u2019s health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt would be good if doctor Adil Qeybulla visits him again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the lawyer, the postponement of the appeal court hearing until May 20 has had a very negative impact on Tofiq Yaqublu\u2019s condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I asked him to end the hunger strike due to the severity of his condition. He firmly stated that he would continue with the hunger strike.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen he said goodbye to me, he told me, \u2018I am dying. I hear the sound of death,\u2019\u201d the lawyer concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Relevant authorities have not responded to the lawyer\u2019s statements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tofiq Yaqublu was sentenced to 9 years in prison by the Baku Serious Crimes Court on March 10, 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He has been on a hunger strike since April 1, demanding his release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yaqublu was found guilty under the Criminal Code for large-scale fraud and the preparation or use of forged documents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The politician considers the charges to be fabricated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is not Tofiq Yaqublu\u2019s first hunger strike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He went on a 17-day hunger strike on March 22, 2020, in protest of his arrest. Due to his worsening health, his sentence of 4 years and 3 months was later converted to a suspended sentence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On May 6, the Baku Court of Appeal held a hearing on the appeal of opposition politician Tofig Yagublu, who was sentenced to 9 years in prison. Yagublu, a member of the Musavat Party and the National Council, has been on a hunger strike since April 1\u2014now in its 36th day\u2014demanding his release. The court […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":30528,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1047],"class_list":["post-30527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-feed","tag-editor"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irfs.org\/az\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30527","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irfs.org\/az\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irfs.org\/az\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irfs.org\/az\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irfs.org\/az\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30527"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.irfs.org\/az\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30527\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30540,"href":"https:\/\/www.irfs.org\/az\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30527\/revisions\/30540"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irfs.org\/az\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irfs.org\/az\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irfs.org\/az\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irfs.org\/az\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}