Georgian authorities confirm their intention to extradite opposition journalist to Azerbaijan
The Tbilisi Court of Appeal has rejected the appeal of Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Sadigov. He tried to appeal the decision to extradite him to Azerbaijan. The defense said that they are continuing legal actions to prevent the extradition of their client.
Afgan Sadigov has been on hunger strike in a Georgian pretrial detention center for 117 days and is in serious condition.
At the end of November, the Tbilisi City Court ruled to extradite the journalist to his homeland. According to the defense, in this case he will not escape political persecution, torture, and ill-treatment for criticizing the Azerbaijani authorities.
Human rights activists also noted that by extraditing Sadigov, Georgia would violate its obligations under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. This would expose him to a significant risk of torture and ill-treatment, given the recent increase in politically motivated arrests in Azerbaijan.
Afgan Sadigov, founder and editor-in-chief of the opposition Azerbaijani channel Azel TV, was arrested in Tbilisi on August 3 on a fabricated Interpol wanted list at the request of the Azerbaijani authorities. In May 2020, he was sentenced in Azerbaijan to seven years in prison on extortion charges. He was later pardoned. Human rights activists called the criminal case a fabrication.
