Swedish Ambassador met with family of arrested activist Famil Khalilov

On September 4, Swedish Ambassador to Azerbaijan Tobias Lawrenson received family members of the arrested activist, first group invalid Famil Khalilov. Human rights defender Rufat Safarov also took part in the meeting.

Safarov reported on his Facebook page that diplomats from the Embassies of Latvia and Estonia to Azerbaijan were also present at the meeting. The meeting was organized on the initiative of the Swedish human rights protection organization. Recall that "Famil Khalilov was deported from Sweden with his family and arrested in Baku.

He has been on hunger strike for 22 days now," the human rights defender told the Turan news agency.

According to him, the Swedish Ambassador asked what his government should do to release Famil Khalilov.

"I brought to their attention that the Swedish government should contact the government of Azerbaijan and draw attention to the tragic situation in which Famil Khalilov found himself.

During the meeting, Famil Khalilov phoned his wife and said that, in his opinion, the Swedish government would do everything possible to free him," Safarov said.

It is worth recalling that Famil Khalilov emigrated to Sweden in 2015 due to political persecution, as he felt that his life was in danger. He lived there with his wife and children for nearly 8 years, but was deported to Azerbaijan last year.

On May 2 this year, he was arrested on charges of distributing drugs on a particularly large scale. The court arrested him for 4 months, and he faces up to 12 years of imprisonment.

However, the real reason for his arrest is the criticism of the government on social media. Despite the paralysis of his hands, he learned to type on a computer with his toes.

On August 9, a preliminary hearing on Khalilov's case began in the Baku Court for Serious Crimes. The court hearing on the merits of the case will be held today, September 5.

In spite of the fact that Khalilov's hands do not work and he cannot eat and drink on his own, the court did not release him under house arrest.