Amnesty International has urged Georgian authorities to hold off on extraditing self-exiled Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Sadiqov, who was detained in Tbilisi and placed in a deportation center on August 3.
In a statement on August 5, Amnesty International’s deputy director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Denis Krivosheev, called on the Georgian government to respect its international obligations and provide Sadiqov and his family members with international protection, if they asked for it.
A Georgian court’s decision on Sadiqov’s extradition is pending.
"There is no doubt that [Sadiqov's] extradition to Azerbaijan will impose a significant risk of serious violations of his human rights, including torture, arbitrary incarceration, and an unfair trial," Krivosheev said, adding that the case against Sadiqov was "a continuation of the trend of the eradication of independent media in Azerbaijan."
Amnesty International also called on Baku to stop its politically motivated crackdown on dissent and independent media, demanding the immediate release of those imprisoned solely for exercising their freedom of expression.
Sadiqov, who runs the news outlet Azel.TV, has been arrested in Baku several times since 2016 and served more than a year in prison for his reporting.
In May 2020, he was sentenced to seven years in prison on extortion charges that he and his supporters have rejected as politically motivated.
The Committee To Protect Journalists demanded his release at the time and called the charges against him "fabricated."
Sadiqov was released in May 2023 after he was pardoned but continued to face pressure from the authorities, which led to his departure for Georgia in December 2023.
After Georgian authorities arrested him on August 3, Georgia's Interior Ministry said Sadiqov was wanted in Azerbaijan for "extortion" and issuing "threats."
Sadiqov has said he and his family were not allowed to leave Georgia for Turkey last month.