Imprisoned Journalist Aytac Tapdig Describes Severe Breathing Problems and Poor Medical Care in Detention

Imprisoned Azerbaijani journalist Aytac Tapdig (Ahmadova) has written about the deterioration of her health and the conditions of medical care at the Baku Pre-Trial Detention Centre, where she has been held in connection with the so-called Meydan TV case since December 2024.

In her article, Tapdig said she had used approximately 80 bottles of nasal drops during 20 months of detention and had become heavily dependent on the medication because of persistent breathing difficulties.

“During the 20 months I have been in detention, I have used 80 bottles of nasal drops. Because of shortness of breath, I have become completely dependent on this medicine. I finish almost one bottle every week,” she wrote.

The journalist said she now carries the medication with her constantly and experiences a sensation of suffocation when she cannot use it.

“Those who have such an addiction know that if you do not use the drops, you begin to feel as if you are suffocating and your breathing is about to stop,” Tapdig said.

According to her, she did not use nasal drops as intensively before her arrest. However, prolonged confinement in an enclosed environment and the conditions at the detention facility have made breathing increasingly difficult.

Tapdig also linked the worsening of her health to the location and environment of the detention centre. She said the facility had been constructed on the site of a drained lake and described the building as damp, arguing that the high level of humidity had contributed to her breathing problems.

Her account raises further concerns about the health conditions of detained journalists and the quality of medical assistance available in Azerbaijani detention facilities.

Tapdig has been held since December 2024 as part of the criminal case against journalists affiliated with Meydan TV. She and her colleagues reject the charges against them and consider the case politically motivated.

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