Afgan Mukhtarli criticized the authorities of Azerbaijan and Georgia

Afghan journalist Afgan Mukhtarli, in an interview with the Romanian publication Presshub.ro, sharply criticized the political situation in Azerbaijan and Georgia. He accused the authorities of Azerbaijan of corruption, anti-democratic behavior, and the establishment of family rule, where the Constitution and economy are subordinated to the interests of the Aliyev family.

Mukhtarli also noted the repressions against the media and the opposition in Baku, and the use of torture in the country. As for Georgia, the journalist expressed concerns about the "Azerbaijanization" of power and the establishment of authoritarianism by the government of Bidzina Ivanishvili, accusing him of controlling parliament, subordinating the judicial system, and attacking freedom of speech.

In 2024, the ECHR ordered the authorities of Georgia and Azerbaijan to pay 12,500 and 8,500 euros to Afgan Mukhtarli. He fled Azerbaijan for Georgia in 2015, fearing for his safety due to corruption investigations into the family of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. On May 29, 2017, he was kidnapped in central Tbilisi, tied up, beaten, and forced into a car before being sent to Azerbaijan. There, he was sentenced to six years in prison on charges of illegally crossing the state border, smuggling, and resisting a government official. Under pressure from the international community, the journalist was released in March 2020.

Soso Gogashvili, the former deputy head of the State Security Service of Georgia, who was later arrested, testified that Afgan Mukhtarli was kidnapped and handed over to Azerbaijan on the orders of the founder of Georgia's ruling Georgian Dream party, billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili.

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