Polad Aslanov stops hunger strike in prison

Baku/03.03.21/Turan: Today, Polad Aslanov, the he head of the Xeberman.com website, stopped his hunger strike in jail N 1, Turan was told by the journalist's wife Gulmira Aslanova.

“Polad called today and informed his mother about the end of the hunger strike. I asked for five minutes to talk to him, but they didn’t give me a meeting or a telephone conversation,” Aslanova said.

According to her, the Ombudsman Office also confirmed information about the end of the hunger strike.

* On November 16, the founder of the website xeberman.com, Polad Aslanov, was found guilty of espionage for Iran by the court and sentenced to 16 years in prison. The state prosecutor asked to be sentenced to 17 years.

Aslanov was arrested on June 12, 2019 and charged under Article 274 of the Criminal Code (high treason). The investigation claims that Aslanov recruited fellow journalists and persuaded them to cooperate with the Iranian special services. Aslanov denied all charges, saying he was being prosecuted for exposing corruption. International organizations condemned his arrest, calling for the release of Aslanov.

On February 1, consideration of the appeal of P. Aslanov began. During the meeting, he announced a hunger strike, demanding to ensure the objectivity of the  trial. -16B06-