At the end of his 30-day administrative arrest, opposition politician Tofig Yagublu was released in the morning of 22 January. Yagublu spent 17 days on hunger strike protesting against his unlawful arrest and violation of his rights in the detention centre. On the seventh day of his hunger strike, he was transferred to a civilian hospital but remained in police custody.
Tofik Yagublu, a member of the National Council of Democratic Forces and the Musavat Party, was detained on 23 December during a protest in central Baku demanding the release of social activist Bakhtiyar Hajiyev.
Tofik Yagublu speaks about his misadventures in the program "Hard issue".
According to him, the reason for his hunger strike as a protest action was an illegal court decision, and not the bad conditions in the detention facility, as it was publicized in the media.
"On 5 January, even before the Court of Appeal decision, I told my lawyer Bahruz Bayramov that if the Court of Appeal upholds the earlier decision of the Sabail district court, I will go on hunger strike," Yagublu said.
As for his health condition after more than 18 days of hunger strike, Yagublu said his health condition is normal.
"It is a natural process. My state of health is what a person who is coming out of hunger strike should be. I hope I will fully recover in 3-4 days. This is not the first time I have gone on a hunger strike during my struggle. I have gone on long hunger strikes before," the politician said.
Also, Yagublu noted that the conditions in the detention facility are appalling and a Gestapo regime has been established there. He further noted that the food for the detainees is simply disgusting.
"In this regard, I intend to sue the management of the detention facility. Although it is clear to me that the Azerbaijani court will not provide a complaint. However, I will take the case to the European Court," he promised, adding that such conditions have been created by the authorities deliberately
"These appalling, degrading conditions are created deliberately to intimidate, to crush the opposition representatives," Yagublu claimed.-0-
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