Georgian Public Defender’s office warns of ‘sudden medical complications’ in Afgan Sadigov case

Doctors representing Georgia’s Public Defender’s Office warn that Afgan Sadigov, an Azerbaijani journalist detained pending his extradition to Azerbaijan, could suffer from sudden medical complications as a result of his months-long hunger strike.

The Public Defender’s Office said on Wednesday that Sadigov refused to be transferred to a civilian hospital for treatment more than 140 days into his ‘complete hunger strike’.

Earlier in February, Sadigov escalated his hunger strike by refusing to drink water, but the local civil rights group Social Justice Centre (SJC) said on Tuesday that he agreed to drink water ‘at the request of his family and the recommendation of his lawyers’.

Sadigov’s wife, Sevinj Sadigova, previously told OC Media that he has lost more than 40 kilogrammes as a result of his hunger strike. The Public Defender’s office has also confirmed that Sadigov had lost weight.

Azerbaijani journalist detained by Georgia begins dry hunger strike

Afgan Sadigov, who is currently awaiting extradition to Azerbaijan, has been on hunger strike for more than 130 days.

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‘According to the doctor, other data at this stage is not dangerous, although sudden complications cannot be ruled out’, the statement read. ‘According to the medical staff, the prisoner, due to the deterioration of his health, has been provided with appropriate medical services for several days, with his consent’.

On 5 February, the SJC stated that ‘Sadigov’s health condition deteriorated extremely’ and he was unconscious for several hours.

‘According to the doctors at the penitentiary institution, the damage to his health after a prolonged hunger strike may be irreversible’, the SJC reported.

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

The Tbilisi City Court ruled in favour of his extradition to Azerbaijan on 28 November, but the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) temporarily barred his extradition on 14 January as an interim measure.

ECHR reportedly temporarily bars Georgia from extraditing Sadigov to Azerbaijan

Sadigov has been on a hunger strike for around 120 days in his own form of protest.

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In the end of January, the Tbilisi City Court extended Sadigov’s extradition detention for another three months as per the prosecutor’s request.

The SJC has appealed to the ECHR, asking that it extend its interim measure of banning Sadigov’s extradition until it reaches a final ruling on his case.

Tamta Mikeladze, the head of the SCJ, told Formula that Sadigov’s health condition is currently extremely serious and said that the organisation is in talks with the Public Defender ‘to establish a council on Sadigov’s case’.

‘[They are requesting the establishment of a council] so that independent doctors can monitor his condition and provide appropriate medical interventions’.

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

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Sadigov’s address to Mzia Amaghlobeli

On Wednesday, the Georgian online watchdog platform Mediachecker published an interview with Sadigov, in which he addressed the detained founder of Georgian media outlets Batumelebi and Netgazeti, Mzia Amaghlobeli.

Amaghlobeli was detained in mid-January on charges of  slapping Batumi Police Chief Irakli Dgebuadze, which the prosecutor’s office considered an ‘attack on a police officer’ — a criminal offence which carries a prison sentence of four to seven years.

She has also been on hunger strike in protest against her detention.

Mediachecker had sent several questions to Sadigov through the SJC. In one of his answers, Sadigov expressed solidarity with Amaghlobeli, urging her not to give up. He additionally called on the Georgian government, which he said was on the verge of becoming a dictatorship, to resign and to release Amaghlobeli.

Opinion | Mzia Amaghlobeli is a political prisoner

The authorities in Georgia go to extreme lengths to pursue opponents of the government, while giving tacit approval to those who attack such opponents.

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