Tbilisi Court of Appeal Judge Giorgi Mirotadze declared the appeal of Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Sadygov inadmissible, leaving unchanged the decision of the city court on August 4, which sentenced him to three months of extradition detention.
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The non-governmental organization Rights Georgia appealed the City Court's decision to the Court of Appeal on August 8. The lawyers requested the cancellation of the extradition detention used as a preventive measure and offered the court an alternative bail of 2000 GEL. Afgan Sadygov's statement was attached to the appeal, in which he applied to the Migration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia and requested international asylum.
"We consider the decision of the Court of Appeal to be illegal and unfounded. It is alarming that the court did not take into account the new circumstance, particularly that Sadygov requested international asylum in Georgia, which halts the extradition process," the lawyers stated.
The Azerbaijani journalist was arrested by representatives of the Central Criminal Police in Tbilisi on August 3 and has been held in the N8 penitentiary facility in Gldani since then. His wife and minor children witnessed the arrest. According to the lawyers, Afgan Sadygov only learned after his arrest that he was wanted and that a criminal case had been initiated against him in Azerbaijan.
The detainee's defenders explained that Afgan Sadygov's arrest was carried out at the request of the Azerbaijani side, where he is accused of "extortion, taking a large amount of property from a foreigner, and repeatedly threatening to spread offensive information." According to Rights Georgia, the case against Afgan Sadygov was initiated in Azerbaijan on May 9, 2024, and on May 13, the Azerbaijani authorities appealed to the Prosecutor General's Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia for assistance.
Sevinch Sadygova believes that her husband is being persecuted for criticizing the Azerbaijani government and is being detained on the orders of the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev.
Two weeks before his arrest, on July 18, Afgan Sadygov attempted to travel to Turkey with his wife and two minor daughters, but Georgian border guards at Tbilisi International Airport did not allow him to cross the border. He was not arrested at that time and was told that he could only return to Azerbaijan.
Afgan Sadygov has been living in Georgia since December 24, 2023. He claims that he came to Georgia for medical treatment, but due to threats against him and the start of a new wave of arrests of Azerbaijani journalists, he did not return to his homeland. The Sadigovs did not feel safe in Georgia, which is why they wanted to leave the country.
The United States State Department expressed concern over the arrest of Afgan Sadygov and called on the Georgian authorities to "immediately" release him.
Amnesty International and the International Press Institute also responded to Sadigov's imprisonment. Amnesty International stated that the Georgian authorities should immediately cease efforts to extradite the journalist in accordance with their obligations under international law and the principle of non-refoulement and provide him and his wife with international protection if they request it. However, according to Amnesty International, Sadygov’s case is part of a broader trend of suppressing independent media in Azerbaijan.
