The activist who swallowed the battery was placed in the punishment cell of the prison hospital

Elhan Aliyev, an activist of the Popular Front Party, was placed in the punishment cell of a prison hospital. The doctor told his wife that the battery he had swallowed had left the body naturally. However, the opposition leader himself denied this.

On May 27, in the Court of Appeal, Aliyev stated that he swallowed the battery from the TV remote control in protest against unjustified criminal prosecution. After that, he was placed in a medical facility of the Penitentiary Service.

On May 28, his wife Shahnaz Aliyeva came to the hospital, but she was not allowed to meet her husband. A doctor came out to her and informed her about Elhan Aliyev's health. On the evening on May 29, her husband called her and denied the doctor's words that the battery had been removed from the body. He also said that he was imprisoned in a punishment cell in the hospital, which greatly depresses him.

A swallowed battery can pose a deadly threat to humans because it contains toxic chemicals, Deputy chairman of the Association of Doctors of Azerbaijan, radiologist Aydin Aliyev, told Turan. The battery in the body can get stuck in the esophagus, which usually happens in children, as well as in the stomach. It can also get stuck in the transition from the small intestine to the large one.

Exposure to gastric acid can cause the contents of the battery to leak into the body and cause serious poisoning. One of the possible options is also peritonitis, an infectious inflammation of the abdominal cavity with impaired body functions, which will require urgent surgery, the doctor pointed out.

The doctor did not rule out that a smooth object can leave the body in a natural physiological way, but if this does not happen for several days, medical intervention is necessary.

The Prison Service could not be reached for comment.

*Elhan Aliyev was arrested in July 2023 on charges of "fraud" and "production and use of a false document." The activist called the accusations far-fetched. Human rights activists recognized him as a political prisoner.

On April 1, the Baku Serious Crimes Court sentenced him to 5 years in prison. On May 13, during the consideration of the appeal, Aliyev announced his intention to start a dry hunger strike.