The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia has arrested journalist Afgan Sadygov, who fled his homeland due to political repression, with the intention of extraditing him to Azerbaijan.
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The journalist was transferred to a temporary detention facility. The decision on his extradition will be made by the court.
"Azerbaijani citizen A.S., wanted by the Republic of Azerbaijan for threats and extortion, was arrested by the Central Criminal Police Department with a view to his further extradition. The individual has been wanted for the crime of threats and extortion since 2024," the Ministry of Internal Affairs said.
After receiving the case materials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, lawyer Dimitri Nozadze stated that the case against Sadigov was initiated in Azerbaijan in May, and the Georgian side received the request for his extradition in July. The lawyer does not rule out the possibility that the extortion case is fabricated. "It is an important circumstance that Afgan Sadigov has a residence permit and could move freely," the lawyer noted.
The news of the arrest of Afgan Sadygov, editor of the independent publication Azel.tv, was announced by his wife on August 3. Sevinch Sadigova claims that this occurred on the orders of Azerbaijan's President, Ilham Aliyev.
"Azerbaijani authorities were concerned that Afgan would leave Georgia for a third country and hastily initiated a criminal case. He is being punished for not staying silent about injustice, arbitrariness, and illegality. Afgan was not silent in Georgia either and continued to criticize the Azerbaijani government on social media," Sadigova said.
Afgan Sadygov has been living in Georgia since December 24, 2023. About two weeks ago, he attempted to travel to Turkey with his wife and two minor daughters, but the Georgian border guards at Tbilisi International Airport did not allow him to cross the border. They did not arrest Sadigov at that time, telling him that he could only return to Azerbaijan.
One day before his arrest, on August 2, Sadygov met with the Public Defender of Georgia, Levan Ioselian. The journalist wrote on social media that the ombudsman expressed regret for the delay he experienced at the airport and promised to investigate the matter as soon as possible.
The Azerbaijani authorities arrested Afgan Sadygov in May 2020 on charges of extortion. In November of the same year, he was sentenced to seven years in prison. Sadygov denied the accusation and went on a hunger strike in prison as a protest. Local human rights defenders recognized him as a political prisoner. In late May 2022, Sadigov was pardoned by President Ilham Aliyev.
In 2017, Georgia handed over investigative journalist Afghan Mukhtarli to the Azerbaijani authorities. Mukhtarli, who had been living in Georgia since 2015, disappeared from the center of Tbilisi on May 29, 2017, and was found the next day in a police cell in Azerbaijan. In Azerbaijan, Mukhtarli was accused of illegally crossing the border, smuggling a large amount of foreign currency, and disobeying the police. He was sentenced to six years in prison. In March 2020, Mukhtarli was released and subsequently went to Germany. The former first deputy head of the State Security Service of Georgia, Ioseb Gogashvili, stated after his arrest that Mukhtarli was kidnapped by SSS probes on the orders of Bidzina Ivanishvili.
