Azerbaijani journalist and editor of the Azel.TV website, Afgan Sadygov, reported that on July 17, Georgian border guards prevented him from flying from Tbilisi to the capital of Turkey. They turned him back at the border-passport control and informed him that he could only return to Azerbaijan. Sadygov, associates the incident with his criticism of the Azerbaijani authorities and believes that the order prohibiting him from traveling to another country originated from Baku.
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Afgan Sadygov,was flying to Ankara with his wife and two daughters.
"I was stopped at passport control at Tbilisi airport. They told me there was a problem with my passport and that I could not travel to any country except to return to Azerbaijan. They did not specify who had banned me from entering third countries and suggested that I contact the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia for clarification.
This is related to my recent critical posts and videos. Currently, no criminal case has been opened against me, but I know that as soon as I return to Azerbaijan, I will be arrested like other critical journalists," says Sadygov.
The journalist has been living in Georgia since December 24, 2023. He came here for treatment, but due to threats against him and the beginning of a new wave of arrests of Azerbaijani journalists, he has not returned to his homeland.
"Dictator Ilham Aliyev and the Georgian authorities, who carry out his repressive political orders, are directly responsible for any incident that happens to me in Georgia," the journalist wrote on Facebook.
Afgan Sadygov and his family do not feel safe in Georgia and therefore want to leave the country.
Azerbaijani authorities arrested Afgan Sadigov in May 2020 on charges of extortion. In November of the same year, he was sentenced to 7 years in prison. Sadygov denied the accusations and, as a sign of protest, announced a hunger strike in prison. Local human rights defenders recognized him as a political prisoner. Sadigov was one of the convicts pardoned by President Ilham Aliyev at the end of May 2022.
