The youth union of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) posted a caricature of Huseynov on its Facebook page, suggesting he had been eating all this time and that his hunger strike was a hoax. He himself until recently headed the list of Azerbaijani political prisoners. Ilgar Mamedov, the leader of the Republican Alternative opposition party and a well-known opposition politician, is actively supporting the campaign in defense of Huseynov on social media. However, seven activists from the Musavat and the Azerbaijani Popular Front parties declared a hunger strike in solidarity with Huseynov. Several other MPs were of a similar opinion. The Deputy Executive Secretary of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party, MP Siyavush Novruzov, said that the goal of the campaign in defense of Mehman Huseynov is to exert pressure on Azerbaijan, and that the activities of Huseynov himself are aimed at spreading negative information about the country and its people. Where is the red line for Azerbaijan’s journalists?.Mothers of Azerbaijani prisoners of conscience.However, there were few protesters and the police quickly dispersed them. Seven people were arrested and received three weeks of administrative arrest, while several others were fined. Journalists and political activists held two rallies in support of Huseynov on 3 and 6 January. Local human rights defenders included his name on the list of political prisoners in the country. The human rights organization Amnesty International has recognized Huseynov as a “prisoner of conscience”. The latest allegation, of the blogger beating prison guard Ali Abdalov, could lead to a new prison term for Mehman Huseynov – this time 6 or 7 years in prison. The head of the police station filed a suit against him on charges of slander, after which Huseynov was sentenced to two years in prison. He told reporters afterwards that he had been tortured at the police department.
The blogger was detained by police for his journalistic activities, and later released. In his videos, he is critical of the authorities and their inexplicable wealth. He is also one of the founders of the human rights organization Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS). Mehman Huseynov, 26, is the creator and presenter of a popular online video channel as well as the Sancak (Pin) Facebook page. That evening, Huseynov’s lawyer reported he had stomach pains and, on the advice of a doctor, drank milk and other liquid dairy products. On 7 January the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Miyatovic contacted Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Mahmud Mammadquliyev and spoke in defence of the blogger. He was supported by many in the community – there were street protests, and a number of people were arrested and fined. On 26 December he began a hunger strike in protest. His term was supposed to come to an end in March 2019, but he was recently charged with assaulting a guard. The case of Azerbaijani blogger Mehman Huseynov, who has been in prison for two years on charges of slandering the police, has caused a strong reaction both locally and internationally.