Jailed Hurriyyet TV Editor Reportedly Needs Urgent Surgery as Treatment Is Cut Short

The medical treatment of jailed Hurriyyet TV editor-in-chief Vugar Mammadov has reportedly been interrupted, with the journalist transferred back to the Baku Detention Center despite doctors recommending urgent further examination and surgery.

According to Hurriyyet TV, Mammadov was admitted to the Penitentiary Service’s Medical Facility on July 23 but was returned to the Baku Detention Center on August 8.

Doctors who examined him at the medical facility reportedly concluded that he needed an angiography examination and urgent surgery. Despite this, his treatment was allegedly discontinued before the recommended procedures were carried out.

Mammadov’s brother, Jasur Mammadov, has also raised serious concerns about his health. He said medical examinations had identified several conditions, including ischemic heart disease, prostate adenoma, kidney cysts, a knee-joint hernia and a hernia in the right groin area.

According to his brother, doctors recommended that Mammadov undergo angiography at a private clinic and be taken for urgent surgery. A medical certificate concerning his condition has reportedly also been submitted to the Baku Court for Grave Crimes.

The family has appealed to President Ilham Aliyev and Azerbaijan’s Ombudsperson, asking that Mammadov’s treatment be continued and that he receive the medical care recommended by doctors.

The Penitentiary Service has not yet publicly explained why Mammadov’s treatment was stopped or why he was transferred back to the detention center before the recommended procedures were completed.