Azerbaijan opposition activist on hunger strike over prison sock punishment

Sahib Mammadzada

An Azerbaijani opposition activist has gone on a hunger strike in prison after being placed in solitary confinement for allegedly failing to wear socks during a daily roll call, his family says.

Sahib Mammadzada, the local chairman of the opposition Azerbaijani Popular Front Party (APFP) in the Dashkasan region, has been on a dry hunger strike for four days at Prison No. 10, according to relatives speaking on 9 July.

His family said guards punished him after he appeared at the evening roll call in slippers without socks. Relatives described the justification for his solitary confinement as "ridiculous".

Neither the prison administration nor the State Penitentiary Service has commented on the specific allegations. However, the Penitentiary Service routinely states that all inmates under its jurisdiction are treated strictly in accordance with the law.

Mammadzada was arrested in March 2024 while transporting livestock in a lorry with his sister. Authorities claimed to have found 23g of narcotics in his possession, charging him under drug trafficking laws.

Mammadzada rejected the charges, describing the prosecution in court as a "staged show".

In December 2024, the Ganja Grave Crimes Court sentenced him to six and a half years in prison. An appeals court reduced this sentence to three and a half years in March 2025.

His family claims the recent prison punishment is a deliberate attempt to block his eligible release on parole, as he has already served two-thirds of his sentence.

The APFP has faced systemic crackdowns in recent years, with approximately 20 of its members, including party leader Ali Karimli, currently behind bars.

The party leadership maintains that the detentions are politically motivated.

Local human rights defenders report that there are currently more than 320 political prisoners in Azerbaijani jails.

The government in Baku denies holding political prisoners, insisting that all detainees are prosecuted solely for specific criminal offences.