Azerbaijani journalist Afghan Sadigov has been on hunger strike in prison in Georgia for 59 days. His health condition is serious.
Sadigov, who is critical of the Azerbaijani government, is the editor-in-chief of the media outlet Azel.Tv. In July 2024, he was unable to fly abroad from Tbilisi with his family, and on August 3 he was arrested in front of his family members. The next day, the Tbilisi City Court sentenced Sadigov to a three-month extradition detention.
In Azerbaijan, he is accused of spreading offensive information and threatening to seize a large amount of property. Both family members and human rights defenders do not agree with the presented charge, point to the political context of the case and call on the authorities not to allow the extradition of Afghan Sadigov to Azerbaijan.
Sadigov was arrested in Azerbaijan twice, in 2016 and in 2020. During the second imprisonment, he was on hunger strike for 242 days. The Migration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs did not agree with Sadigov’s security concerns in Azerbaijan – on September 16, 2024, he was refused refugee status in Georgia.
The international non-governmental organization Amnesty International, which works in the field of human rights protection, responded to the arrest of Sadigov. Amnesty International’s letter cites examples of persecution and harassment of journalists who are critical of the government in Azerbaijan and notes that Afghan Sadigov’s rights will be seriously violated if he returns there, including “there are increased risks of illegal detention, torture and other ill-treatment, as well as unfair trial”.
Since the arrest of Afgan Sadigov, his wife, Sevinch Sadigov, has not stopped protesting. Aprili Media spoke to Sevinch on the topics of Afghan’s health, protests, charges and security.
— Sevinch, first of all, I will ask you about the health of Afghan. He has been on hunger strike since September 21. How does he feel now and what information do you have?
We had the last visit to Afghan in prison on November 12. We have a closed meeting format, we talk to each other behind the window and on the phones. In total, we had 8 meetings and all of them were in a similar format. I was with the children at the last meeting. They brought Afghan. He cannot move on his own, he needs a wheelchair. His health condition is very serious. He lost more than 30 kilograms after the hunger strike. He is feeling very bad. When we left the meeting, a prison official told me that the chief doctor wanted to meet with me.
We entered a room where there was one woman and one man. I was introduced to a woman as the main doctor, I don’t know who the man was. The chief doctor told me that the Afghan could die. I was with the children and seeing how they are afraid and suffering, I said to the doctor, let the children come out and let’s talk. But I think they wanted the kids to hear it. They want Afghan to stop hunger strike and that’s why they do such things. The doctor told me why. I don’t want the children to hear this, they feel a lot about their father’s condition, they ask me – mother, will father die? And if the doctor says this in front of them, is it not justified? Finally, the doctor agreed to let the children leave the room. If they didn’t agree, I wouldn’t talk to them.
The doctor told me that Afghan’s condition is very serious, “the body will eat itself”, because he does not take anything, he may fall into a coma and even die. I will tell you why his condition is so serious and noteworthy now. He was a very healthy person, but the last time he was arrested in Azerbaijan, he starved for 242 days. That’s why the body is weaker.
I don’t want an Afghan to starve either, but he told me that “if the law doesn’t work, if the law doesn’t protect you, if they use the law against you as they want and order, I have no way out, even if I die, starve.” He is such a person, he has such a character. That’s why I told the doctor that I understand you are a doctor, you want to save him, turn to the state and tell them what the situation is with him. He told me that they can’t do something like that. I said, just tell them the situation. The person is innocent, he has not done anything, he is not guilty either in Azerbaijan or here. He has been here for a long time, he has not done anything wrong, he is a cultured person, democratic and respects the law.
— Because of his journalistic activities, Afghan was imprisoned several times in Azerbaijan.
In the end, Afghan was released directly from the hospital, because at the time of this arrest he had been starving for almost a year and was very sick, that’s why he was released. Then Afghan was treated for some time. Then we returned to Azerbaijan. It was as if they were constantly observing what he would do after his imprisonment, whether he would continue his work or not. He would continue his work, write something or say something on the air, and they would call me and threaten me. Sometimes I didn’t tell Afghan at all, I was afraid that he would say it again on live TV and he would be arrested again. In the end, I even told him, it is enough, how long should it last, how many times should they arrest you, this is not life, my life and ours are hell. It is not a safe environment there at all. There were cases when journalists were killed.
— Sevinch, why did you decide to go to Georgia, or how safe did you feel here, after what happened to Afghan Mukhtarli?
We simply had no choice. It was not only Mukhtarli’s case, there were other noteworthy incidents, but Mukhtarli’s case is more publicized and many people know about it, because he was kidnapped from Georgia. If Afghan didn’t continue his work in Azerbaijan, he would have stopped and waited for one or two years, maybe they would have let us go somewhere else, but Afghan was actively working and that was impossible.
We came to Georgia together in December 2023, but the children started school and I returned to Azerbaijan again. When he was alone, Afghan stayed in Marneuli. When we arrived, we were in Tbilisi. When I returned to Azerbaijan, they watched me. The car was always at home. In June, I was summoned to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a high-ranking and influential person, Dugar Elechberov, told me that if your husband does this and that, the result will be bad. Tell him, you are his wife… I didn’t say anything, I was afraid and wanted to leave Azerbaijan already.
When we arrived here, I told everything to Afghan, he told me that it was not a safe place here either, that they were watching me here too. He told me that there was an activist here who worked for the Security Service of Azerbaijan. He seems to be an activist, but when Afghan was arrested, he was also involved because he was providing information to the security of Azerbaijan.
— Sevinch, before Afghan was arrested in July, you were not allowed to leave Georgia. Can you remember the day of your arrest and also tell us what important events preceded that day?
Yes, we decided to leave Georgia. We just didn’t feel safe here anymore, we couldn’t even get a visa. We talked a lot about what to do and where to go. It was all very difficult, our life, the education of our children – we had a lot to think about. Finally, Afghan said to me, let’s go to Bosnia, they probably won’t fulfill Azerbaijan’s order there. We also knew that there were Azerbaijanis who were given shelter there. We had bought a ticket through Turkey.
On July 18, when we were at the airport, Afghan was told that he had a technical problem, he should wait, find out the details in the relevant agency, not to worry. Afghan told him that he was not worried, he was a journalist, he knew his rights and would find out the details. After that we were told that we could go to Azerbaijan, our homeland, but we could not fly anywhere else. We were at the airport until morning. Thanks to the journalists, they actively covered our story. Our lawyers appealed to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but they did not answer as to what specific problem they were not letting us out of the country. Then the lawyer and the Afghan public defender met, but we still did not get answers.
On the evening of August 3, somewhere after 5 o’clock, the children told us that they wanted to go for a walk and we went out together. After the airport, I felt like we were being watched. Afghan didn’t want me or the kids to worry, so he told us that we were wrong. On August 3, when we left the house, they came straight to the street and talked to an Afghan, I thought they should ask for directions, but when I looked around, I saw many cars parked and many people dressed in civilian clothes. When I started shooting, uniform vests were worn only after that. That’s it, they were waiting for us. They immediately handcuffed Afghan. They asked where we lived, as if they did not know. Afghan told him, if you want my head, why are you looking for a house, let’s go. And he told me not to worry. When they got into the car, they stopped for a few minutes, then I started filming. They were saying something to Afghan, and they were taking photos and videos of us. The children were crying.
— As soon as Afghan was arrested, you started protests, trying to make your voice heard by as many people as possible. You mentioned that children are very nervous. I will also ask you about your situation, how are you? How are your children?
I hold protests because I have no other solution. Of course, all this is very difficult for us. We have experienced terrible news, the eldest girl is 15 years old, the little one is 10 years old. Afghan was arrested in front of the children, then there were speeches, protests, trials, they lived and experienced all this. When I was going through a similar period in Azerbaijan, I left my children with my mother and they couldn’t see everything, I don’t have such support here, and wherever I go, I take my children with me and they witness everything.
As for me, they are threatening me on FB and other platforms. They write to me with different profiles that they will poison me, kill my children, I am also going through such psychological pressure. I have reported these threats to the police. For example, in Azerbaijan, when Afghan was arrested, I was threatened by the security service, but here they contact me with different profiles. Also, they are watching me here, it was more noticeable before the elections, I could feel, see, take photos and videos, after the elections they are not so active anymore, probably they are not wrong… Ivanishvili rules here and they do everything on Aliyev’s order. It looks like they gave a lot of money… I will fight to the end no matter what they do. I know that I have small children, but I can’t leave Afghan alone in this situation, to be extradited, or to do some illegality and injustice.
— Sevinch, let’s talk about the current accusation. According to available information, Afghan was arrested because he was wanted in Azerbaijan since 2024 for “crimes related to threats and extortion”. At one of the trials, he stated that “he never committed a criminal offense, he just criticized Aliyev [President of Azerbaijan] and exposed his crimes.”
The criminal case opened in Azerbaijan is fake and was opened because they did not want the Afghan to leave here and go to another country. For example, they say that this case was opened in May, but no letter or information about it came to our address in Azerbaijan. By law, there should have been a letter about this charge and we should have been informed. Moreover, during that period, I came to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan, I requested information about Afghan, I wanted a certificate, and there was no ongoing criminal case, nothing was recorded about the search. We did not know about this accusation even when we were not allowed to fly from the airport, or when they arrested us, they did not answer us why they did not let us. They probably thought that the Afghan would return to Azerbaijan, when he did not return, then they initiated the case.
I know my husband very well. We have been married for 16 years and I know his character. Is he not the kind of person to blackmail someone, and if he is such a person, can he starve after that? Legally, it can be proven that Afghan did not do this. But neither in Azerbaijan nor in Georgia do they care about the law, they do what they are told.
— The Migration Department refused asylum to an Afghan, what were your expectations in this regard and what do you associate with the refusal of asylum?
The first thing I would like to mention is that the Department of Migration conducted interviews with the Afghan very quickly, they also had a very bad interpreter, our lawyers monitored everything. For example, the last interview was in September, on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday were off, and on Monday morning he was rejected. I don’t know anything about how they work, what information they got to know in that time, on the basis of which they wrote a refusal. In the conclusion, it was written that there was no danger to Afghan in Azerbaijan, they would not arrest him, they would not threaten him for freedom of speech there.
They wrote as if everything was invented and there was no danger in Azerbaijan. What does it mean that there was no danger? We have many facts, many international organizations have made supporting statements. Everyone says that he is a political prisoner, everyone knows and Georgia doesn’t know? It seems that not only the prosecutor’s office, the police, the court, but also the migration department receives “orders”, because in their report it is openly written that everything is fine in Azerbaijan.
— Sevinch, you also mentioned the conclusions of international human rights organizations, which emphasize the political aspect of the case. At one of the protest speeches, you said that “at the request of one regime, the other regime leaves Afghan in prison.” What do you expect, what are your requirements and expectations?
I have no expectations. I really wanted to meet Irakli Kobakhidze. I wanted to answer what was happening, why they were killing the law, but when I went to the government administration and asked for a public meeting, they told me that it was impossible, I had to apply with an official letter. I told him that I had the right to be there, I said, “Do you think I will stop when Afghan is dying?” It won’t be like that, I will make everyone understand and show them who is running the state here, Aliyev and his regime, you are doing what you are ordered and I will show him, I told him. I stayed with the government administration for an hour and many policemen came. I also wanted to meet with the prosecutor’s office and was refused. We will meet the lawyers but not with Sevinch. Why? I have a lot of questions that they can’t answer because it’s all illegal.
We already feel very bad here. If I didn’t have the experience of working as a reporter and if I was an ordinary person, I wouldn’t be able to endure all this… Living and fighting like this is very difficult, but I will fight until the end. I demand that they release Afghan, not kill an innocent person.
The Social Justice Center protects Afghan Sadigov’s legal interests , and within the process, the organization requests the cancellation of extradition detention selected as a preventive measure and the use of personal surety and bail. According to them, a reliable and well-known representative of various Georgian media outlets expresses the readiness of Afghan Sadigov’s personal guarantee.