Court of Appeal keeps 60-day hunger striker in custody

Baku/07.04.23/Turan: The Baku Court of Appeal (BCA) on 7 April rejected the appeal of the Party of People's Front member Zamin Salayev against the refusal to transfer him to house arrest.

Lawyer Neqmat Karimli told Turan that the defence drew the court's attention to the fact that the preliminary investigation into the case was terminated on 6 April and there were no grounds for keeping Salayev in custody.  The investigators justified the arrest by the fact that if Salayev remained at large he could "put pressure on the participants of the trial (victim and witnesses). 

Nonetheless, the court dismissed the complaint.

Addressing the court, Zamin Salayev again called his arrest a political order.

The lawyer noted that Salayev is on hunger strike for the 60th day. "Every day, he is getting worse, there are new problems," Kerimli said.

Overall, Salayev is in a serious condition, hardly moving around, very lethargic, with kidney pains.

The case is expected to be sent to court as early as next week.

It should be recalled that on 8 February, the Garadagh district court in Baku arrested Salayev for three months. A criminal case under Article 221.3 of the Criminal Code was initiated against him. The activist faces up to 5 years of imprisonment.

Zamin Salayev told the court that the charge against him was false and that he was being punished for criticizing the authorities on social media. -30C06-