hunger strike

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Shukruti protesters sleeping under rain outside the parliament. Photo: Mariam Nikuradze/OC Media.

Chiatura Manganese Mines

Dying on the steps of parliament — Georgia’s Shukrutians make last bid for their homes

by Mariam Nikuradze

•7 min read

After over a month on hunger strike, mostly on the steps of Georgia’s parliament, residents of the village of Shukruti are facing declining health and plummeting temperatures, with little hope of saving their village from destruction. ‘I don’t think I’ll witness my child growing up. I don’t have much energy left in me, maybe a few days? I don’t know’, says Giorgi Bitsadze, 33. Bitsadze has always been the funny one, cracking endless jokes to friends, family, and anyone he happens to meet.

Azerbaijan

Hunger striking prisoner dies in Baku Court of Appeal

by Ismi Aghayev

•1 min read

Sabuhi Salimov, a member of the opposition Islamic Party, has died of a heart attack in court following a 53-day hunger strike in protest against his detention. Salimov died on 2 March, reportedly shortly after the Baku Court of Appeal upheld his conviction. Salimov was detained by Azerbaijan’s State Security Service in October 2021. On 11 November 2022, he was sentenced to 17 years in prison on charges of treason. Human rights defenders report that Salimov was found guilty of spying on

Saleh Rustamli. Photo via Sezgin Rustamli's Facebook page.

Azerbaijan

Prominent Azerbaijani opposition figure to escalate hunger strike amid grave health concerns

by Ismi Aghayev

•2 min read

Saleh Rustamli, a prominent member of Azerbaijan’s opposition Popular Front Party, is threatening to escalate his hunger strike, demanding that authorities release him from prison. Doctors reportedly said that if he does so, it would be a serious and immediate danger to his well-being. Rustamli was sentenced to seven years in prison in February 2019 on charges of money laundering. His lawyer, Bahruz Bayramov, told OC Media that as of 29 November, the 24th day of his client’s hunger strike, Rus

Hayk Harutyunyan. Photo via FizGorodok Facebook page.

Armenia

Hunger striker from Yerevan’s Phys-Gorodok stops drinking water

by Ani Avetisyan

•2 min read

As protests against the construction of a high-rise in Yerevan’s Phys-Gorodok neighbourhood continue, local resident Hayk Harutyunyan, who has been on a hunger strike for nearly three weeks, has stopped drinking water. Construction of the 12-storey high-rise was briefly halted earlier this month after a request from Armenia’s Environment Ministry. It has restarted as of Monday. Protesters allege the land on which construction is being carried out was illegally privatised. ‘Phys-Gorodok’ i

Tofig Yagublu in front of the Nizami District Court after his initial arrest. Photo: Nigar Hazi/Facebook.

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani opposition leader Tofig Yagublu on hunger strike

by OC Media

•2 min read

A prominent leader of the Azerbaijani opposition Musavat party, Tofig Yagublu, went on a hunger strike today protesting the ‘fabricated’ case brought against him, his lawyer reported. Earlier, the State Prosecutor called on the court to sentence him to four years and six months in prison. According to Turan, Yagublu decided to go on a hunger strike at the court session on Wednesday after the judge, Nariman Mehdiyev, interrupted his closing speech several times and then cut him off entirely.

Georgia

Hunger striking South Ossetian prisoners ‘severely beaten’

by OC Media

•2 min read

South Ossetian prisoners who were on hunger strike in Tskhinvali last Friday were severely beaten, local media report. Ekho Kavkaza reported that the strike, which began on 27 September, was triggered by the introduction of Russian regulations in South Ossetian prisons. The prisoners’ other concerns include poor sanitary conditions, insufficient time outside their cells, and a limited number of parcels that they can receive from relatives. Two prisoners required hospitalisation after th

Afghanistan

Afghan war veterans in Daghestan go on hunger strike

by OC Media

•4 min read

Forty-five Afghan war veterans are on a hunger strike in Makhachkala, the capital of the Russian Republic of Daghestan, demanding improved housing conditions. According to the federal law on veterans, veterans of the 1979–1989 Soviet–Afghan War have the right to free housing from the state or cash to go towards purchasing a home. But for three decades, a group of veterans in Daghestan have been given neither housing nor any money. The veterans began their hunger strike on 17 September