On 18 September, the Baku Court of Appeal transferred opposition leader Tofiq Yagublu, who was on his 17th day of hunger strike against his conviction, to house arrest. One of Yagublu’s lawyers, Elchin Sadigov, told journalists that the court did not respect his conviction and that it would be considered as scheduled on 28 September.
Yagublu, refused to stay under clinical supervision and went home. “Thank you all for your support, the fight for justice and truth will continue. I am not giving up my position and the charges against me are far-fetched. The courts, the investigation and their witnesses are participants in the falsification and must be held accountable for this,” he told the journalists after he left the hospital.
Tofiq Yagublu was sentenced to 4 years and 3 months of imprisonment in a strict collective colony by Baku City Nizami District Court on 3 September on charges of hooliganism. In the case brought against him, he was accused of having caused a car accident and attacking a married couple who were passengers in another vehicle (Caucasus Watch reported). On 16 September, protests were held in solidarity with Yagublu all around the world, including Toronto, Istanbul, Berlin and Strasbourg, as well as in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku (Caucasus Watch reported).
