Afgan Sadigov burned portraits of Putin and Ivanishvili in Georgia

Azerbaijani opposition journalist Afgan Sadigov held another protest outside the Georgian parliament building. He burned portraits of Bidzina Ivanishvili, founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

This occurred after Sadigov was released after serving 14 days of administrative arrest. He had previously been fined $100,000 by Georgian authorities for blocking a road. The total fines imposed on the journalist amounted to 270,000 lari.

Afgan Sadigov, founder and editor-in-chief of the opposition Azerbaijani channel Azel TV, was first arrested in Tbilisi on August 3, 2024, on the basis of a fabricated Interpol search warrant requested by Baku. In May 2020, he was sentenced in Azerbaijan to seven years in prison on extortion charges. He was subsequently pardoned. Human rights activists called the criminal case a fabrication.

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