Azerbaijani Journalist Afgan Mukhtarli 'confirms' his kidnapping was Bidzina Ivanishvili's order
By Liza Mchedlidze
Thursday, July 28, 2022
Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Mukhtarli 'confirms' that his kidnapping was allegedly ordered by Bidzina Ivanishvili, former chairman of Georgian Dream.
Mukhtarli made this statement after the former deputy head of the State Security Service of Georgia Soso Gogashvili, who is now detained, released a statement from prison, saying Azerbaijani journalist was abducted and the video footage where the kidnapping can be depicted was deleted by Operational-Technical Department.
"I was kidnapped on the order of Bidzina Ivanishvili. The security service, the criminal police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the border service and the customs service, specifically the Lagodekhi checkpoint, were jointly involved in this. 4 state agencies could not have done it without the permission of Ivanishvili and the then prime minister, Kvirikashvili. I also had information that the Georgian side received a very large amount, 3 million dollars, for this. The border service gave this amount from the Azerbaijani side, and the security service took it from the Georgian side," said Mukhtarli.
The Azerbaijani journalist demands that Soso Gogashvili give an official testimony to the prosecutor's office and says Gogashvili's life might be in danger in prison, because according to him, Gogashvili has a lot of information about Bidzina Ivanishvili's alleged crimes.
Mukhtarli said he wants to come to Tbilisi and he asks the European Union and the European Parliament for guarantees, because according to him, the Georgian authorities have already created an obstacle and did not allow him to enter the country.
"We demand that Soso Gogashvili give an official testimony to the prosecutor's office and we demand that he be protected so that he is not killed in prison. He knows a lot about Ivanishvili's crimes. I want to come to Tbilisi and take part in the process myself, but the problem is that they won't let me into Georgia. That's why I'm asking the European Union, the European Parliament, to give me a guarantee that I will be able to come to Tbilisi," said Mukhtarli.
Azerbaijani journalist Mukhtarli, who was investigating the corruption schemes of Ilham Aliyev's family and was persecuted because of it, moved to Georgia with his family. After 2 years of living, he was kidnapped from Tbilisi in May 2017. Two days later, it was revealed that Mukhtarli was detained in Azerbaijan.
