The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, has requested clarification from Azerbaijani authorities over the criminal proceedings against journalist Afgan Sadigov, who was arrested on June 8, 2026, and placed in pre-trial detention.
In a letter, Commissioner O’Flaherty addressed the Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan, asking for information regarding the case.
O’Flaherty referred to his previous appeal to the President of Azerbaijan, calling for the release of human rights defenders, journalists, and civil society activists imprisoned for their legitimate work or for expressing dissenting or critical views, and for related criminal charges to be dropped.
In response to the letter, the Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan said the investigation into Sadigov was reopened following complaints from alleged victims and that pre-trial detention was imposed.
He claimed that O’Flaherty’s assessments lacked factual and legal grounds, adding that the court overturned the investigator’s decision to terminate the criminal case against Sadigov after reviewing complaints from the alleged victims and ordered the investigation to resume.
The Prosecutor General also stated that evidence collected during the investigation indicates that Sadigov allegedly spread defamatory information on social media and pressured individuals in order to obtain material benefits.
Sadigov, an Azerbaijani journalist and activist and founder of the online media outlet Azel TV, has been a vocal critic of both Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and the Georgian Dream government.
He arrived in Georgia on 24 December, 2023, with his wife and two minor children and had been living in Tbilisi since then. He was not allowed to leave Georgia, while Azerbaijan sought his extradition.
In 2024, Georgian authorities arrested Sadigov following an Azerbaijani extradition request related to extortion charges. After the European Court of Human Rights indicated that he should not be removed to Azerbaijan, Georgian authorities released him on bail on April 16, 2025.
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