Leader of Islamists Starts Hunger Strike in Gobustan Jail

Serving his sentence in the Gobustan prison, the leader of the Islamic Party of Azerbaijan (IPA) Movsum Samedov began an indefinite hunger strike in protest against the referendum scheduled for September 26 on amendments to the Constitution. Turan was told by his lawyer Yalcin Imanov.

On August 30 he met with Samedov in the Gobustan prison. Samedov told the lawyer that he began a hunger strike on August 29 and wrote to the prison authorities about his requirements.

Samedov said the amendments are reactionary, and their adoption would mean creation of a monarchy in Azerbaijan. The lawyer said that Samedov wants to be under medical supervision.

In turn, the Head of Public Relations of the Penitentiary Service Mehman Sadigov told Turan, commenting reports on the hunger strike, that he had no information on the matter.

Samedov was arrested in January 2011 after he severely criticized the Azerbaijani authorities for corruption and violation of the rights of believers.

On October 7 of that year, Samadov and a number of IPA activists and theologian were sentenced to long prison terms on charges of illegal possession of weapons, trying to seize power, and others.

Samedov received 12-year prison sentence. The European Court for Human Rights started communication on the case.

By the October 9, 2014 decision of the Garadagh District Court Samedov was transferred from Prison No 12 into the strict regime Gobustan prison for 2 years. The tighter conditions were motivated by the breach of discipline by Samedov. However, according to some reports, the true reason was the growing popularity of Samedov among the prisoners, many of whom began to do religious rites. -16D06-