Opposition Azerbaijani journalist arrested in Georgia on fabricated wanted list

The founder and editor-in-chief of the opposition Azerbaijani channel Azel TV, Afgan Sadigov, was arrested in Tbilisi on the basis of a fabricated Interpol wanted list at the request of the Azerbaijani authorities.

The Interpol wanted list stated that in May 2024, a criminal case was opened against Afgan Sadigov and he was put on the wanted list. However, the certificate issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan to his wife a month later did not mention that Afgan Sadigov was wanted.

According to journalists, the persecution of their colleague intensified in Baku when he began to criticize the Aliyev regime more often in Georgia.

The day before, it became known that the Georgian Migration Service considered that Azerbaijan is a democratic state and Afgan Sadigov is not in danger there. They plan to extradite him within two weeks.

Afgan Sadygov has been living in Georgia since December 2023. In May 2020, he was sentenced in Azerbaijan to seven years on charges of extortion. Human rights activists called the criminal case a fabrication. Sadygov was pardoned in May 2023, but continued to face threats from the authorities and left his homeland.

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