One of the leaders of the opposition National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF) and the Musavat Party, Tofig Yagublu, who was recently sentenced to 9 years in prison, has gone on hunger strike in Azerbaijan.

“I am starting a hunger strike on April 1 in protest against the illegal and immoral sentence that was announced to me. I know that it will be very difficult, and many of my friends do not approve of this decision of mine. However, I am determined to do this. I am 65 years old now. According to Ilham Aliyev’s plan, I should be released from prison at 74. However, there is no guarantee that I will live that long. Especially in prison conditions. I was slandered and unjustly imprisoned on false charges. Everyone knows that I was arrested for political activities,” Yagublu wrote on a social network.

Tofig Yagublu is known for criticizing the Azerbaijani authorities. At the end of 2023, he was arrested on charges of fraud and document forgery. Before that, the politician had been repeatedly subjected to criminal and administrative prosecution. International organizations recognized him as a prisoner of conscience. In the pretrial detention center, Tofig Yagublu went on hunger strike more than once.

Earlier, the leading opposition party, the Popular Front of Azerbaijan (PFA), stated that the country's authorities were not releasing political prisoners, but were increasing their number with new arrests.