Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Sadigov released from prison after being granted bail

The local civil rights group Social Justice Centre (SJC) has stated that Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Sadigov, who was being held in detention pending extradition to Azerbaijan, has been released from prison after being granted bail.

According to the SJC, Sadigov left prison on Wednesday.

The Tbilisi City Court granted the General Prosecutor’s Office’s motion and replaced the extradition detention imposed on Sadigov with a ₾5,000 ($1,800) bail.

The SJC reported that Sadigov’s extradition detention was set to expire on 3 May, which is the maximum nine-month period provided for by Georgian law.

‘The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia was forced to apply to the court to change the preventive measure’, the SJC stated.

The SJC requested that no preventive measure be applied to Sadigov at all, but the court did not satisfy its motion.

According to the SJC, the Tbilisi City Court’s decision was based on the 27 February ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which prohibited the Georgian government from extraditing Sadigov until the court was able to make a ‘substantive decision’ on the case. The SJC additionally noted that this process ‘could last for years’.

Following the ECHR decision, Sadigov ended his hunger strike, which had lasted 161 days.

ECHR blocks Georgia’s extradition of journalist Afgan Sadigov to Azerbaijan

In response, Afgan Sadigov ended his hunger strike after 161 days.

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During a press conference on Thursday, Sadigov said that it doesn’t matter whether he lives in Azerbaijan or Georgia, he won’t stop fighting for justice.

Sadigov thanked journalists, activists, human rights defenders, and the international community for their support.

‘In Georgia, I was detained with the order of the dictator [Azerbaijani President Ilham] Aliyev and the fulfillment of [Georgian Prime Minister Irakli] Kobakhidze who had just embarked on the path of dictatorship’, he said.

Sadigov stated that for now, he is staying in Georgia, but that he does not know what decision he will make in the future. He added that he does not agree with the bail and will not pay it.

‘As in Azerbaijan, the courts in Georgia are not independent and carry out commissioned cases, and I do not agree with any of their decisions’, Sadigov said.

Tamta Mikeladze, the head of the SJC, stated that Sadigov’s safety is the responsibility of the ruling Georgian Dream party.

‘If the Afgan faces any risk, it will be solely the crime and responsibility of the current political regime’, she said.

Mikeladze additionally called on Georgian Dream to facilitate the reunification of the Sadigov family and allow him to leave Georgia.

Mariam Kvelashvili, a lawyer for the SJC, stated that the organisation plans to appeal the bail imposed on Sadigov to a ‘higher power’.

Sadigov’s wife, Sevinj Sadigova, told OC Media that her husband ‘had the right to this freedom’.

‘The decision of the European Court has finally been implemented. The law states that we will definitely receive a full acquittal in this fabricated criminal case in the near future. Unfortunately, the regime of Ilham Aliyev and [Georgian Dream founder] Bidzina Ivanishvili has destroyed the laws’, she said.

She added that even though Sadigov is free, ‘his life in Georgia is in danger’.

‘We know how dangerous Ilham Aliyev is. [In Georgia] he can be attacked and even kidnapped. I am very scared’, she said.

‘Afgan must be treated, [be] healthy, safe, and reunited with his family. Of course, he wants all this. We need the law. But the regime has destroyed the laws’.

Sadigov, the head of Azerbaijani news outlet and YouTube channel Azel.tv,  was detained pending an extradition trial in early August 2024.

He had been living in Georgia with his family since December 2023 and had planned to leave the country two weeks before his arrest, but was barred by immigration officers at Tbilisi Airport from exiting Georgia.

Many have warned that Sadigov’s extradition to Azerbaijan could lead to his arrest, as the authorities in Baku continue to repress independent media — a crackdown that began in November 2023 with a raid on independent media outlet Abzas Media. More recently, the authorities in Baku detained journalists from Meydan TV, another independent news outlet.

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