The Social Justice Center calls on the Georgian authorities not to allow the extradition of Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Sadigov to Azerbaijan and to unconditionally uphold the principle of the supremacy of human rights protection.

• The Case of Afgan Sadigov

According to media reports, Afgan Sadigov was wanted by the Republic of Azerbaijan on charges of extortion and blackmail, and the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs arrested him on August 3, 2024, for extradition purposes.

Afgan Sadigov is the editor-in-chief of azel.tv, which actively reports on corruption and social issues in Azerbaijan. His publications often criticize the Azerbaijani government and expose illegal activities of local officials. Afgan Sadigov arrived in Georgia on December 24, 2023, with his wife and two minor children with the help of an international organization after being released from prison for medical treatment.

Afgan Sadigov was arrested twice in Azerbaijan, first in 2016 and then in 2020, on extortion charges and was sentenced to seven years in prison. In the spring of 2020, he left his home to go to a grocery store and never returned. A few hours later, police officers came to his house and informed his wife that Afgan Sadigov had been arrested. After 2 years and 15 days, the journalist was released on amnesty. During his imprisonment, he went on a hunger strike for 242 days. After his release, due to his deteriorated health condition, he received treatment abroad and then returned to Azerbaijan. However, due to threatening circumstances, he soon moved to Georgia with his family and continued his activities remotely from Tbilisi.

On July 17, Afgan Sadigov disclosed that he was planning to travel from Georgia to a third country via Turkey, but Georgian law enforcement did not allow him to pass the border. They only explained to him that the only country he could travel to from Georgia was Azerbaijan. In a public statement, Sadigov clarified that, to his knowledge, there was no ongoing criminal investigation against him in Azerbaijan. However, he suspected that the Azerbaijani authorities might still be trying to fabricate a case against him and were possibly pressuring Georgia to extradite him. Sadigov also mentioned threats made by law enforcement against his family members remaining in Azerbaijan.

• Political Loyalty and Illegal Cooperation with Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan is a country with consolidated authoritarianism, where civil and political rights are systematically violated, and opposition members, civil activists, and journalists face intense persecution and harassment.

As early as 2014, many Azerbaijani activists and journalists fled the country due to fear of persecution and imprisonment. Many sought refuge in Georgia; however, especially since 2016, Georgia has been neglecting and violating the rights of Azerbaijani dissidents. The Georgian government has not only failed to protect the safety of exiled activists, journalists, and politicians but also, in some cases, openly served the interests of authoritarian Azerbaijan and engaged in illegal cooperation with it.

The practice of illegal and human rights-violating cooperation between the governments of Georgia and Azerbaijan became evident in the case of the abduction of Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Mukhtarli from Georgia. Mukhtarli disappeared from Tbilisi on May 29, 2017, and the next day, it was revealed that he had been detained in Azerbaijan on charges of illegal border crossing and currency smuggling. Mukhtarli believes that his abduction from Georgia and subsequent transfer to Azerbaijan was carried out under the orders of Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder of the "Georgian Dream" party. Seven years later, the abduction remains uninvestigated in Georgia, and the case is currently being reviewed by the European Court of Human Rights against Georgia and Azerbaijan.

Afgan Sadigov's case bears some resemblance to that of Afgan Mukhtarli, and in this case, too, the loyalty of the "Georgian Dream" government to the Azerbaijani authorities is evident, as well as the disregard for human rights, including the supreme principle of protecting absolute rights. However, whereas in the previous case this loyalty was expressed through illegal cooperation with Azerbaijan, it seems that today the government acts openly and blatantly, with demonstrative disregard for human rights principles.

It is noteworthy that the Georgian Dream government is taking this step as elections approach, which may indicate political interests with the Azerbaijani authorities during this period.

• Prohibition of Extradition to Azerbaijan

The Ministry of Internal Affairs has not yet issued an official statement regarding the arrest of Afgan Sadigov, although the ministry has confirmed to various media outlets that the extradition of Afgan Sadigov is being planned.

According to Article 29 of the "Law on International Cooperation in Criminal Matters," extradition is prohibited if there is reasonable belief that the person will be persecuted on protected grounds or will be subjected to torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Additionally, according to this provision, extradition may be denied if it is contrary to the sovereignty, security, or essential interests of Georgia. Thus, beyond checking the formal procedures and legal grounds for the admissibility of extradition, Georgia has the obligation to assess whether there are serious risks of human rights violations for the person subject to extradition.

According to reports from international organizations, the scale of persecution of activists and journalists critical of the government in Azerbaijan has been on an increase from year to year. According to the 2023 report of the Council of Europe, based on various independent organizations, there are currently about 200 political prisoners in Azerbaijan, including journalists, activists, and opposition politicians.

The number of people imprisoned on politically motivated charges doubled in 2023 compared to the previous year. In February 2024, in the run up to the expected early presidential elections, police arrested 13 journalists who had actively been covering corruption in the country. The judiciary is also used as an instrument of political retribution against journalists. In politically motivated cases, courts issue guilty verdicts despite the absence of evidence.

The 2023 U.S. State Department Human Rights Report states that despite legal prohibitions, Azerbaijan uses torture and unacceptable treatment against detainees in police custody.

The 2024 report of the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) highlights severe violence against detainees in prisons and by law enforcement officials. The committee expresses extreme concern over the Azerbaijani authorities' failure to take effective steps against this ongoing practice.

According to a report by the Council of Europe, Azerbaijan tops the list of countries with significant issues in implementing decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) at the national level. The new annual report on the status of ECHR decision implementation highlights that Azerbaijan has failed to comply with 75 percent of the decisions issued against it. The majority of these unexecuted decisions are related to the politically motivated imprisonment of activists, human rights defenders, and journalists, as well as violations of the freedoms of expression, association, and assembly.

In 2021, Azerbaijan was found to have violated Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights in 53 cases, with 29 of these involving inhuman or degrading treatment and 24 cases of ineffective investigations.

Given the justified risks that Afgan Sadigov could become a victim of inhuman treatment, punishment, or political persecution in Azerbaijan, the failure of the Georgian state to protect the safety and integrity of individuals under its effective control and his extradition to Azerbaijan is fundamentally inconsistent with Georgia’s obligations under international treaties and agreements. It also disregards the fundamental principles of democracy and the rule of law. According to the case law established by the European Court of Human Rights, protection from treatment prohibited by Article 3 of the Convention is absolute, and the state is obliged to thoroughly examine the situation in the requesting country before extradition and assess whether the individual is at real risk of treatment contrary to Article 3. In extradition cases, particular attention is given to information provided by various organizations that indicate severe human rights conditions in the receiving country. Considering that detainees in Azerbaijan continue to be subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment and that the judiciary considers politically motivated cases without evidence, these issues should be a significant matter for the Georgian government and judiciary. Otherwise, Georgia may be found to have violated the absolute right against torture and ill-treatment under the Convention.

Therefore, we call on the Georgian authorities to thoroughly examine and understand the high risks of rights violations that Afgan Sadigov is very likely to face if extradited to Azerbaijan and to prevent his extradition. If made, such a decision would have a severe impact on the safety of activists, politicians, and journalists who have fled their authoritarian states (such as Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, etc.) and are trying to continue living and working safely in Georgia. Additionally, the disregard for the supremacy of human rights protection and cooperation with authoritarian regimes will dramatically affect the country’s foreign policy image and its process of Europeanization.

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