Azerbaijani journalist Afqan Muxtarli -- who in 2017 was abducted in Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, and subsequently transferred to Azerbaijan, where he was convicted of smuggling, illegally crossing the border, and using force against a government official -- has won a lawsuit against Georgia and Azerbaijan at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
The ECHR ruled on September 5 that Georgia violated Article 3 (prohibition of torture) and Article 5 (right to liberty and security) of the European Convention on Human Rights by not investigating Muxtarli's claims that he was abducted in Georgia, ill-treated, and illegally transferred to Azerbaijan.
The court also ruled that Azerbaijan violated Article 5, Paragraph 3 of the convention, which states: "Everyone arrested or detained in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1.c of this article shall be brought promptly before a judge or other officer authorized by law to exercise judicial power and shall be entitled to trial within a reasonable time or to release pending trial."
The ruling also says that Azerbaijan violated the convention's Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life).
The ECHR ordered Georgia to pay 12,500 euros ($13,830) and Azerbaijan 8,500 euros ($9,405) to Muxtarli.
In January 2019, a Baku court sentenced Muxtarli to six years in prison on the charges, which he, his supporters, and rights groups called politically motivated.
In mid-March, 2020, a Baku court ordered Muxtarli's early release from prison and allowed him to fly to Germany, where he reunited with his wife and daughter.
Human Rights Watch said at the time that Muxtarli developed serious health complications in prison and did not receive adequate medical care.
Georgian authorities said at the time that they had opened an investigation into the abduction and suspended a number of counterintelligence and border police officials.
Muxtarli's lawyer, Archil Chopikashvili, told RFE/RL on September 5 that Georgia failed to provide any information on how Muxtarli turned up in Azerbaijan after living in Tbilisi.