Former political prisoner and Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Mukhtarli expressed surprise at the situation surrounding Igor Kartavykh, editor-in-chief of the Russian state news agency Sputnik Azerbaijan. He noted that, despite an ongoing criminal case and official house arrest, the country's authorities released Kartavykh, who is already in Moscow and broadcasting his opinions from there.

Mukhtarli contrasted this fact with the situation of Azerbaijani journalists in prison. He emphasized that nine female journalists are being held in prison, as well as Alesker Mammadli, who is suffering from cancer.

"And the Russian agent is at home. How is this possible? So, criticizing Ilham is a more serious crime than being an agent," Mukhtarli said indignantly, referring to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

As a reminder, in July, Azerbaijani security forces detained Igor Kartavykh, editor-in-chief of the Russian state news agency Sputnik Azerbaijan, and Yevgeny Belousov, editor-in-chief. They were accused of illegal activity and labeled agents of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB).

In 2024, the ECHR ordered the Georgian and Azerbaijani authorities to pay €12,500 and €8,500 to Afgan Mukhtarli. He fled Azerbaijan for Georgia in 2015, fearing for his safety due to corruption investigations into Ilham Aliyev's family. On May 29, 2017, he was kidnapped in central Tbilisi, bound, beaten, and forced into a car, before being sent to Baku. There, he was sentenced to six years in prison on charges of illegally crossing the state border, smuggling, and resisting a government official. Under pressure from the international community, the journalist was released in March 2020.