Georgian Court Rules to Deport Journalist Afgan Sadigov to Azerbaijan After Late-Night Arrest

Tbilisi City Court granted a request to deport journalist Afgan Sadigov to Azerbaijan in a ruling delivered at around 4 am on April 5, hours after his late-night arrest at home over what police said was “insult” on social media. He was also fined GEL 2,000 (USD 750) and banned from reentering Georgia for three years.

Police said in a morning statement, released hours after the ruling, that the journalist, an Azerbaijani national, “has been deported to his country of origin.” His rights defenders fear the journalist faces “the gravest risks” to his life, health, and safety after deportation.

Sadigov, founder of the Azerbaijani news outlet Azel.tv, who had faced arrest and prosecution in Azerbaijan, reportedly has lived in Georgia since 2023 and spent over seven months in extradition detention following his arrest by Georgian authorities on August 4, 2024. He was released on bail in April 2025, a decision that followed a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) weeks earlier, which barred Georgia from extraditing Sadigov until a final judgment is issued. He had spent 161 days on a hunger strike while in custody.

The Georgian Interior Ministry cited Azerbaijan’s recent decision to halt criminal proceedings, and thus extradition procedures, against the journalist, and said the deportation was based on migration laws that allow the expulsion of foreign nationals who have committed certain administrative offences.

The journalist’s defenders have implied that Baku’s April 1 sudden decision to halt criminal prosecution could be a trick and pretext for Tbilisi to defy an ECtHR ruling barring his extradition. They maintain, however, that the European Court’s ruling remains in force and must be respected unless and until it is formally lifted by the ECtHR itself.

Late-Night Arrest, 4 AM Ruling

His arrest late on April 4, between 10-11 pm, was first reported by Tamta Mikeladze of Social Justice Center, a Georgian human rights group that has protected the journalist’s rights.

Sadigov’s wife, Sevinc Sadigova, also posted video footage showing emergency services and what looked like police officials mobilized at the journalist’s apartment door, saying police first tried to break the door, and demanded that the door be opened. After opening the door, the journalist “was violently taken away without showing any valid reason,” Sadigova said.

At 00:15 on April 5, police issued a statement saying Sadigov was detained for “insulting a police officer on social media, under Article 173 of the Administrative Offence Code.” Police said Sadigov would appear before the court, where the judge would review his case and possible penalty.

The statement also noted that the journalist “has been identified 62 times for various types of administrative offenses, including violations of assembly and demonstration rules, for which he has already served administrative detention twice.” Sadigov has been an active participant of the non-stop anti-government protests in Tbilisi.

Later, Mikeladze reported that at around 4 am on April 5, Judge Tornike Kochkiani ruled to deport Sadigov to Azerbaijan. Mikeladze said the judge refused to admit any of the motions from the defense, including a “binding” ECtHR ruling. She noted that the court also refused to consider that Sadigov could have reunited with his family by seeking political asylum in Europe and could have left the country voluntarily.

According to Mikeladze, the arrest came days after Azerbaijan’s authorities abruptly decided on April 1 to discontinue criminal proceedings against Sadigov and notified Tbilisi of the decision. She added that shortly thereafter, on April 3, just a day before the arrest, the Georgian court revoked the previously imposed bail and movement restrictions on him.

“I have not seen such a degree of undermining of the rule of law framework and the [European] Convention in any case in recent years,” Mikeladze wrote on Facebook. In a separate, earlier post, Mikeladze warned Sadigov’s “deportation directly to Azerbaijan, where he faces gravest risks to his life, health, and safety […] would constitute a gravest violation of his rights and those of his family.”

Interior Ministry Cites Azerbaijan’s Decision, New Migration Laws

In a statement published after the ruling, the Georgian Interior Ministry said that the court found Sadigov guilty of an administrative offense of “insulting a police officer on social media,” and that “information from Azerbaijani law enforcement regarding security challenges related to Afgan Sadygov was taken into account.”

According to the Ministry, Azerbaijan has for year requested Sadigov’s extradition, but Georgia “naturally” refused to carry out extradition based on ECtHR’s interim measures halting the handover.

The Ministry, however, said that Georgia “learned a few days ago through official sources that the Azerbaijan’s Prosecutor’s Office exercised its discretionary authority and terminated criminal proceedings in the case for which the Strasbourg Court had issued an interim measure.”

“Accordingly, all extradition procedures in Georgia have also been discontinued,” the statement said, explaining the decision to deport the journalist by citing Georgian legislation that provides for expulsion and a reentry ban, along with fines, for certain administrative offences. Over the past year, Georgia has tightened its migration laws, allowing expulsion as a penalty for specific administrative offences, a move officials have openly said was targeting foreigners participating in protests.

“Human rights and freedoms are fully protected in Georgia. At the same time, the state strictly maintains a balance between individual rights and national security interests,” the Ministry said.

‘Insulting’ Police Officer

According to Tamta Mikeladze, Sadigov faced administrative proceedings over an April 1 Facebook post. The post included videos showing Georgian police confronting protesters who were attempting to organise a public screening during a rally against “propaganda” at the Georgian Public Broadcaster’s office.

In the post, the journalist said: “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.”

The day before, on March 31, Sadigov, an active participant in Georgia’s ongoing anti-government protests, publicly burned portraits of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Georgian Dream party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili in front of the parliament.

Last updated: April 5, 11:35 Tbilisi time.

Also Read:

• 24/10/2025 – Two Foreigners Detained for ‘Blocking Road’ at Protest, One Faces Deportation
• 05/09/2024 – ECtHR Rules Against Georgia in Mukhtarli Case, Finds Violations of Article 3 and 5
• 30/05/2017 – Amnesty: Azerbaijani Journalist ‘Abducted’ from Georgia at Risk of Torture