The International Press Institute (IPI) global network welcomes the release of Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Sadygov, who had been held in detention pending extradition in Georgia since August 4, 2024 — one day after his arrest in Tbilisi.
Authorities in Azerbaijan charged Sadygov, the head of the Azerbaijani news outlet and YouTube channel Azel.tv, with “threatening to spread offensive information” for alleged extortion purposes. He has previously faced severe repression in Azerbaijan and was jailed in his home country.
Sadygov was released on bail on April 16, 2025, after the Tbilisi City Court granted a prosecutor’s request to replace his extradition detention, according to Georgian human rights NGO Social Justice Center. The court ordered his release on a bail of GEL 5,000 (approximately $1,800).
This decision came after a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which prohibited Georgia from extraditing Sadygov until a final judgment is issued — a process that could take years. Following the ECHR’s decision, Sadygov ended his 161-day hunger strike.
Sadygov has been targeted repeatedly in Azerbaijan. In 2020, he was sentenced to seven years in prison on extortion charges. That sentence was later reduced to four years on appeal in July 2021. He was ultimately pardoned by President Ilham Aliyev after serving about two years, during which his health deteriorated significantly due to a hunger strike. His news outlet, Azel.tv, has also been suspended for prolonged periods of time.
Azerbaijani journalists have faced security risks in Georgia or have been denied entry on multiple occasions. On 12 January 2023, Azerbaijani opposition leader and journalist Seymour Hazi, an active critic of Ilham Aliyev, was denied entry into Georgia — border control refused him without explanation. On 14 July 2021, Azerbaijani opposition blogger Huseyn Bakikhanov died in Tbilisi under suspicious circumstances.
In 2017, Afgan Mukhtarli, an Azerbaijani journalist and activist who found shelter in Georgia due to persecution in Azerbaijan, was kidnapped from the country’s capital, forcibly returned to Azerbaijan, and sentenced to six years in prison.
IPI has repeatedly condemned Sadygov’s arrest and advocated for his immediate release. While IPI welcomes his release, we demand that Sadygov and his family are guaranteed safety and protection from any further persecution.
Sadygov’s arrest came amid an ongoing crackdown on media in Georgia which threatens Georgian independent journalism with imminent extinction. This includes the alarming arrest and detention of Mzia Amaglobeli, founder and director of two most prominent independent media organizations in Georgia Netgazeti and Batumelebi, who remains in pre-trial detention and faces up to seven years imprisonment. We reiterate our call for her immediate release.