The prison service confirms the fact of Ikram Ragimov�s hunger strike

Baku/15.08.19/Turan: Ikram Rahimov, the convicted editor of the realliq.info website, goes on hunger strike for the 9th day, his condition remains grave, his family members said on Thursday.

According to the same source, Rahimov is in the medical unit of the pre-trial detention center, from where he called the family. "He had a drop in blood pressure, sharp pains in his stomach, he lost a lot of weight and was weak. They force him to stop the hunger strike, but Ikram intends to continue the protest until the end. His voice was weak and he could not speak, "a family member told Turan. The press service of the Prison Service confirmed the fact of the hunger strike of Rahimov.

"He has been starving for several days and that is his right. However, he does not carry out a dry fast, he takes water and is under medical supervision. He has no health problems and no one exerts pressure on him. He uses his right to meetings and negotiations with relatives, "said the representative of the Prison Service.

* Rahimov was detained on October 26, 2018, charged with extortion by threats and arrested. Before his arrest, Rahimov said that he was being persecuted because of criticism of the assistant to the president Ali Hasanov.

On June 12, the court sentenced him to 5.5 years in prison. On August 7, a preliminary hearing was held in the Baku Court of Appeal in the case of Ragimov. The defense requested a re-trial and new interrogations of witnesses and victims due to falsification of their testimony in the trial court.

The lawyer also asked to appoint a re-examination of the audio recording of Rahimov's telephone conversations for the same reason. However, the applications were not granted and the next meeting was scheduled for 21 August. Rahimov, in protest, stated in the courtroom that he started a hunger strike. -03B-