UN Secretary General Informed about Mehman Huseynov Case

Baku / 04.01.19 / Turan: The office of the UN Secretary General Antonio Gutierrez was informed about the case of the blogger Mehman Huseynov, who was convicted in Azerbaijan.

UN Secretary General was informed about the difficult situation of the blogger who announced a hunger strike and the authorities' attempt to condemn him on a false charge for a new term.

UN Secretary General is invited to take the necessary steps to save and protect the blogger. The news agency Turan has been informed by reliable sources in international human rights structures.

Similar appeals were previously made to OSCE Representative on Press Freedom Harlem Désir, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatovic and EU Enlarging Commissioner Johannes Hahn.

The aforementioned figures were asked to raise with the Azerbaijani authorities the issue of the inadmissibility of the prosecution of Mehman Huseynov and the removal of false accusations from him.

* Recall that the blogger was arrested in March 2017 and sentenced to 2 years in prison under a libel suit filed by the head of the Nasimi district police. On December 26, he was charged with a new charge of beating a prison employee and placed in a punishment cell. In protest, he went on a dry hunger strike. On December 30, the blogger"s health condition deteriorated sharply, and he fainted. After that, at the insistence of his relatives, he stopped the dry hunger strike and began to take water.

Human rights activists are convinced that Huseynov is being persecuted for exposing corruption among high-ranking officials, as well as criticizing the authorities. -02B-