Georgia Deports Journalist Afgan Sadigov to Azerbaijan
By Messenger Staff
Monday, April 6, 2026
Georgian authorities deported Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Sadigov to Baku early Sunday morning, April 5, 2026, following a middle-of-the-night court ruling.
The founder of Azel.tv was arrested late Saturday night on charges of "insulting" a police officer in a social media post. By 4 am, Judge Tornike Kochkiani ordered his immediate expulsion, issued a GEL 2,000 fine, and banned him from reentering Georgia for three years. The Ministry of Internal Affairs confirmed a few hours later that Sadigov had already been "deported to his country of origin."
The deportation follows a long legal battle. For months, a ruling from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) had blocked Georgia from extraditing Sadigov, citing risks to his safety in Azerbaijan.
However, the Georgian government cited a recent shift in the case. On April 1, Azerbaijan's Prosecutor's Office informed Tbilisi that it had terminated the criminal proceedings against Sadigov. The Georgian Interior Ministry stated that because the criminal case was closed, the ECtHR's extradition stay was no longer applicable, allowing the state to move forward with deportation based on administrative violations.
The specific charge stemmed from an April 1 Facebook post in which Sadigov criticized the behavior of Georgian police during local protests. Authorities also noted that Sadigov had been identified for 62 separate administrative offenses over the past year, including violations of assembly rules.
Defense lawyer Tamta Mikeladze of the Social Justice Center argued that the sudden dismissal of charges in Baku was a pretext to allow Tbilisi to bypass the ECtHR ruling. She noted that the court refused to consider the journalist's pending asylum requests or the potential risks he faces upon his return to Azerbaijan.
Sadigov has lived in Georgia since 2023. He previously spent 161 days on a hunger strike while in Georgian custody before being released on bail in April 2025. Following his arrival in Baku on Sunday, local reports indicated he was questioned by the Azerbaijani Migration Service and subsequently released.
