Fazil Gasymov continues hunger strike for 58 days

Istanbul University doctoral student and economist Fazil Gasymov is on hunger strike for 58th day, his relatives told Turan on 10 August after meeting with him at prison service treatment facility.

"As a result of the hunger strike, Fazil's body is exhausted. He is in a serious condition.

The pains in his stomach, kidneys and heart have become intolerable. He has lost so much weight that it is as if his body is melting and disappearing. He has also developed severe headaches. However, despite pleas from our family, Fazil refuses to end his hunger strike. He said he would continue his hunger strike until the end," his brother Nazim Gasymov told Turan.

It was not possible to get a comment from the Penitentiary Service.

A preparatory hearing on Gasymov's case has been scheduled for 15 August at the Baku Court for Serious Crimes under Judge Mahira Kerimova's chairmanship.

* Fazil Gasymov was detained in Turkey on 7 August 2023, brought to Azerbaijan and charged under Article 204.3.1 (making, acquiring or selling counterfeit money as part of an organised group) of the Criminal Code.

The investigation claims that he was the one who passed the counterfeit money to opposition politician Gubad Ibadoglu, who was later arrested.

Recently, Gasymov stated in his address to the Prosecutor General, the Ombudsman, and the local and international public that he provided this testimony under torture. He retracted these testimonies as saying that he did not pass fake money to Ibadoglu, never had discussions with him on FETO (the movement of preacher Fethullah Gulen, recognized as a terrorist organization in Turkey).

Since 14 June, Gasymov has been on hunger strike to protest against unjustified criminal prosecution and torture at the beginning of the investigation.