Tofiq Yagublu, a jailed opposition politician and member of the National Council of Democratic Forces and the Musavat Party, has entered the third week of a hunger strike, with reports confirming significant weight loss and worsening health, according to a report by RFE/RL Azerbaijan bureau. 

Yagublu began the protest on April 1 in response to what he called a politically motivated and unjust court ruling that sentenced him to nine years in prison on fraud and document forgery charges, allegations he denies.

According to his lawyer, Fakhreddin Mehdiyev, who visited Yagublu on April 16, he was brought to the meeting room on a mobility cart as he was unable to walk. His current weight is 84.9kg, and he is reportedly suffering from fatigue, dizziness and persistent stomach pain.

A blood sample was taken on April 15, but results are still pending. The Penitentiary Service has not responded to requests for comment, the report states.

Meanwhile, Yagublu's daughter, Nigar Hazi, said that as of April 14, her father had lost more than 10kg over 14 days. She noted that despite repeated requests, the authorities have not allowed independent physician Adil Qeybulla to examine him, a right previously granted during his earlier detentions.

Lawyer Nazim Musayev confirmed Yagublu’s rapid decline during a visit on April 3, just three days into the strike. At the time, his weight had dropped to 93kg — a daily loss of nearly 2kg. "He was weak and exhausted, but firmly determined to continue," Musayev reported. Hazi added that this hunger strike has had a far more severe physical impact compared to previous actions, noting that her father has no gallbladder and already suffers from chronic health issues.

The family and legal team filed a formal request with the Penitentiary Service on April 7 asking for Qeybulla to conduct a medical assessment, but received no response. During previous hunger strikes, including one in 2020, such a request had been approved after several days of protest.

Yagublu is a veteran Azerbaijani opposition politician, journalist and member of both the Musavat Party and the National Council of Democratic Forces. He has repeatedly been imprisoned on what international rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch describe as politically motivated charges, including incitement, hooliganism, fraud, and document forgery. A former war veteran and district official during Elchibey’s presidency, Yagublu has become a symbol of resistance in Azerbaijan, staging multiple hunger strikes to protest unjust sentences. 

Yagublu’s current sentence stems from a March 10 ruling by the Baku Serious Crimes Court, which found him guilty under Articles 178.3.2 and 320 of Azerbaijan’s Criminal Code. He was arrested in December 2023 and declared in court that he would begin a hunger strike if sentenced. This is the latest in a series of imprisonments, including a 2013 sentence later pardoned, and a 2020 conviction he also protested with a 17-day hunger strike that ended after his pretrial detention was changed to house arrest.

International rights groups, including several based in Europe, have consistently listed Yagublu as a political prisoner.

Azerbaijani authorities reject such designations, stating that all convictions are based on criminal acts rather than political expression.