The Social Justice Center (SJC) has submitted another complaint to the European Court of Human Rights concerning the case of Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Sadygov. This time, the complaint addresses his administrative prosecution in Georgia, his expulsion from the country, and a three-year entry ban following a Facebook post.
On April 3, a Georgian court lifted the restrictions previously imposed on Sadygov after the Azerbaijani side announced the termination of his criminal prosecution. The very next day, the journalist was detained at his home.
A few hours later, the court fined him 2,000 lari, ordered his expulsion from Georgia, and banned him from entering the country for three years. That same night, Sadygov was transferred to Azerbaijan.
Administrative proceedings against Sadygov were initiated under a statute regarding the insult of a law enforcement officer. The case stemmed from a Facebook post made on April 1, in which the journalist shared a video showing a confrontation between police and protesters outside the Georgian Public Broadcaster building, accompanied by critical remarks about the police. However, the case files listed the publication date as April 3.
During the hearing, the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs demanded not only that Sadygov face administrative penalties but also that he be expelled from the country. To justify this measure, the ministry cited 62 prior instances where the journalist had faced administrative penalties for blocking roads during protests outside the parliament, as well as a report from the Georgian State Security Service. According to that report, information received from Azerbaijani counterparts indicated that Sadygov posed a threat to national security.
The court fined the journalist 2,000 lari and ordered his expulsion to Azerbaijan. The decision was handed down around 4 a.m. and immediately enforced; within a few hours, Sadygov was handed over to the Azerbaijani side at the land border.
In its new complaint, the SJC cites Articles 6, 10, and 18 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The organization maintains that prosecuting Sadygov and subsequently expelling him from Georgia over a Facebook post violated his right to freedom of expression. The SJC also contends that the journalist was denied the right to a fair trial during the administrative proceedings.
Upon his return to Azerbaijan, criminal proceedings against Sadygov were resumed. The journalist was placed in pre-trial detention on the same charges that had previously appeared in the extradition request from Georgia.
The SJC stated that it would continue to defend Sadygov’s interests in Strasbourg and called on the Azerbaijani authorities to release the journalist.
