Afgan Sadigov Georgia to deport Journalist Afgan Sadigov to Azerbaijan following late night arrest by Mikheil Gvadzabia (Updated: 11 minutes ago ) • 5 min read Share ▲ Afgan Sadigov protesting at the trial of Georgian journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli in May 2025. Photo: Mariam Nikuradze/OC Media A court in Georgia has ordered the deportation of Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Sadigov in a late night hearing that lasted mere hours, following his surprise arrest several hours earlier for ‘insulting police’ online. The ruling came despite Sadigov being under an international protection order blocking his extradition to Azerbaijan over human rights concerns.
The court ruling came just a day before a scheduled visit to Georgia by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, according to RFE/RL . Azerbaijan has sought Sadigov’s extradition from Georgia for nearly two years, reportedly accusing him of fraud or extortion. In 2025, the European Court of Human Rights enacted interim measures barring his extradition until they could hear his case.
As a result, Sadigov was released from pre-extradition detention in Tbilisi, but, according to his lawyers, on bail with a travel ban. Sadigov was reportedly arrested at around 22:20 on Saturday. CCTV footage shared by his wife, Sevinj Sadigova, shows what appears to be a number of plainclothes police officers, alongside emergency service personnel, moving around the yard, knocking on the front door, and speaking to neighbours to gain access.
‘After opening the door, Afgan was violently taken away without [the police] showing any valid reason’, Sadigova noted , claiming that authorities deleted the CCTV footage of his actual arrest. Over an hour later, the Interior Ministry confirmed Sadigov’s detention for ‘insulting a police officer on social media’. The ministry added that Sadigov was taken ‘to ensure his presentation before the court and the timely consideration of the case’.
A court hearing was scheduled that same night. At around 04:00 in the morning, Judge Tornike Kochkiani ordered Sadigov’s deportation to Azerbaijan and banned him from entering Georgia for three years. The ruling came despite the defence’s request for more time to submit documents giving him a chance to leave voluntarily for an EU country where his family has political asylum.
‘We were ready to submit the necessary documents promptly to both the court and the Migration Department’, Tamta Mikheladze, director of the Social Justice Centre (SJC), which is representing Sadigov, said. She also added that the journalist had previously wanted to leave Georgia and reunite with his family abroad, but had been unable to do so due to travel restrictions imposed on him by the Georgian courts. ‘I have not seen such a breach of the rule of law and the [European] Convention [on Human Rights] in any case in recent years.
This is a catastrophe’, Mikeladze said. According to her, the case file also included a letter from the State Security Service (SSG) stating that Sadigov poses a threat to state security. The defense said they suspected that the authorities would carry out the deportation order the same morning.
The Facebook post that led to Sadigov’s deportation was reportedly published on 1 April and stated: ‘Wherever there is a dictatorship, police officers are ready to sell and trample everything for a salary and a police uniform, and they do it with love, dedication, and pride’. Insulting an official, including a police officer, was singled out as a separate administrative offence by the ruling Georgian Dream party’s legislative amendments in 2025, which also allowed for the deportation of foreigners for said offences. Explainer | The legislative changes that have shaped Georgia’s authoritarian slide The sheer number of laws passed in recent months have overwhelmed observers and media outlets alike.
OC Media OC Media ‘Everything was premeditated’ In her comments shortly after the ruling, Tamta Mikladze from the SJC accused the authorities in Georgia and Azerbaijani of colluding in order to bypass the ECHR’s protection order. ‘Everything was premeditated and orchestrated by two authoritarian regimes’, Mikheladze wrote. According to the SJC, Azerbaijan ended its own criminal proceedings against Sadigov on 1 April, and notified Georgia; the next day, Sadigov himself was informed.
On 3 April, his bail and restrictions on his movement were lifted, yet the following day, he was arrested and received the order for deportation. In a statement on Sunday morning, Georgia’s Interior Ministry cited the decision by Azerbaijan to halt Sadigov’s prosecution, noting that ‘criminal proceedings in the case subject to the ECHR’s interim measure have been terminated’. ‘Accordingly, all extradition proceedings have also been halted in Georgia’, it added.
According to SJC lawyer Mariam Kvelashvili, who attended Sadigov’s hearing, the ministry cited this during the hearing as well, ‘arguing that with criminal proceedings ended in Azerbaijan, Georgia had the right to deport him’. Kvelashvili emphasised that this interpretation was incorrect, noting that the ECHR ruling banned Georgia from extraditing Sadigov until the consideration of his case was completed in the ECHR itself. ‘Accordingly, the Georgian authorities directly violated the [European Convention on Human Rights]’, she added.
She said the interior ministry presented ‘ridiculous evidence’ and, when discussing human rights in Azerbaijan, relied on ‘Bulgaria’s assessment’ that conditions there were ‘good’. ‘You can imagine the standards we are dealing with, while Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch (HRW), and other reputable international organisations report that human rights in Azerbaijan are dire, including threats against lawyers defending those charged for political reasons’, Kvelashvili added. While criminal proceedings against Sadigov have been halted in Azerbaijan, his lawyers said they were confident that ‘a new case has already been prepared for him, and new
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