Georgia extends detention of Azerbaijani opposition journalist
The Tbilisi City Court has extended the detention of Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Sadigov by three months.
The lawyers demanded that Sadigov's extradition arrest be lifted and petitioned to use the surety of well-known Georgian journalists and media editors or to post bail. The judge did not grant their request.
Afgan Sadigov continues to hunger strike in the prison hospital. He also refuses medical care, his wife reported.
The founder and editor-in-chief of the opposition Azerbaijani channel Azel TV, Afgan Sadigov, was arrested in Tbilisi on August 3 on the basis of a fabricated Interpol wanted list at the request of the Azerbaijani authorities. In May 2020, he was sentenced in Azerbaijan to seven years on charges of extortion. Human rights activists called the criminal case fabricated.
Sadygov was pardoned in May 2023, but continued to face threats from the authorities and fled his homeland. He is known for his criticism of President Ilham Aliyev and his entourage.
