Condition of Jahangir Hajiyev, starving in colony, gets worse – lawyer

Health condition of the former head of the International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA), Jahangir Hajiyev, who is serving a prison sentence in Colony 13, has deteriorated. He is not receiving qualified medical care, lawyer Fakhraddin Mehdiyev, who met with Hajiyev on 17 May, told Turan.

On 16 May, Hajiyev's blood pressure rose ‘very high’ and a paramedic was called to his barracks, the lawyer said. Two days earlier, the former banker was examined by doctors and found to have hypoxia (insufficient oxygen supply to tissues and organs). Besides, Hajiyev suffers from hypertension, arrhythmia and thyroid problems, and these illnesses have worsened recently, Mehdiyev continued.

However, effective treatment is impossible in the barracks, where there is overcrowding, the lawyer stressed.

Even worse, Hajiyev is denied transfer to a sanitary unit or a prison hospital.

As a sign of protest against the lack of effective medical care, Hajiyev went on hunger strike from 1 to 10 May.

*Former IBA Chairman Jahangir Hajiyev was arrested in December 2015. In October 2016, he was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment. The sentence was later extended by another 1.5 years.

Note that Hajiyev is accused of embezzlement of up to AZN 4 bn. However, his defence lawyers said that these charges were not supported by reliable evidence.--