Journalist Sadygov was denied a passport after being deported.
Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Sadigov, deported from Georgia to his homeland, was denied a passport, citing a lack of military registration information.
As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," on April 6, security forces in Baku detained Afgan Sadigov. An hour later, the journalist was released by police, but he was warned of the possibility of further detention.
On February 28, 2025, the ECHR banned Afgan Sadigov's extradition from Georgia to Azerbaijan pending a decision on the merits of the case. However, on April 1, Azerbaijan suspended the criminal prosecution of Sadigov and notified Georgia accordingly, and on April 4, Sadigov was detained in Tbilisi on administrative charges. The next day, he was deported from the country and handed over to Azerbaijan's Migration Service. Thus, security officials found a formal way to circumvent the ECHR's ban on Sadigov's extradition. In Azerbaijan, the journalist was notified that the criminal case against him had been dismissed, and released.
Yesterday, April 10, Afgan Sadigov applied to the State Services Center for an identity card—an internal Azerbaijani passport—but was refused, his wife, Sevinj Sadigova, told a Caucasian Knot correspondent today.
"Afgan was denied an identity card. The reason given was that information about Afgan's military registration "disappeared" from the system. "Now, to be re-included in the database, Afgan must register with the Khatai District Military Enlistment Office," she told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
She considers the reasons given to her husband for the refusal to register to be far-fetched. "Afgan was convicted twice on fabricated charges and received identification documents each time after his release. In 2022, when he was released from prison, he even received an international passport. Now, apparently, they deliberately removed him from the military register to avoid issuing him a passport, or for some other reason. And anyway, what's the point of registering a man who turned 49 last year and is almost 50," Sevinj Sadygova noted.
In November 2020, Afgan Sadygov, editor-in-chief of the news website Azel.tv, was sentenced to seven years in prison on extortion charges. According to investigators, he and Sakit Muradov, head of the website Xəbərfakt.az, demanded money from Sumgait administration officials under threat of publishing incriminating evidence. An appellate court reduced his sentence to six years, and a cassation court reduced it to four years. The Union for Freedom of Political Prisoners of Azerbaijan recognized Sadigov as a political prisoner. In May 2022, he was pardoned.
The woman explained that the need for a new ID arose because Afgan Sadigov was not allowed to collect his belongings and documents during his final detention in Tbilisi before his deportation.
Without an ID, it is impossible to contact any government agency in Azerbaijan.
"All this is being done to make life difficult for Afgan." Without an ID card in Azerbaijan, it is impossible to apply to any government agency, and it will be a vicious circle... All this indicates that the threat of new provocations against Afghanistan remains,” said Sevinj Sadigova.
There is a close partnership between the governments and security forces of Azerbaijan and Georgia , Emin Huseynov, director of the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety, told the Caucasian Knot in 2024.
In Azerbaijan, when issuing an ID card to a man under 50, his military service status is checked, a lawyer specializing in such issues explained to a Caucasian Knot correspondent.
"This requirement is especially relevant for young men of conscription age, the limit of which in Azerbaijan is currently 30 years old, so that "Prevent evasion of military service. In other cases, it's simply a formality—a citizen's name is simply run through the system to confirm their military registration. If a person is only a few months away from turning 50, the requirement to register is simply a bureaucratic red tape. After all, by that age, they've already received identification cards several times, and their military registration information has been verified," the lawyer said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
A citizen shouldn't suffer because, for some reason, information was "erased" from the system.
On the other hand, he said, upon entering Azerbaijan after deportation, all of a person's obligations to the state are checked. "If he hid from conscription or mobilization, then this is revealed in the law enforcement database. Generally, a citizen should not suffer because, for some reason, information about his military registration was 'erased' from the system," the lawyer said, commenting on the situation with Afgan Sadygov.
Afgan Sadygov himself could not be reached for comment, a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reported.
As a reminder, Afgan Sadygov, after his release from a pretrial detention center in Tbilisi, regularly participated in protests by Georgian residents. In the fall of 2025, he served several administrative arrests for participating in blockading the streets of Tbilisi. Thus, on October 23, Sadygov was sentenced to 14 days of arrest, and also received 54 fines totaling almost 100,000 rubles. dollars.
Afgan Sadigov arrived in Georgia with his family in December 2023 for medical treatment, but remained there due to the crackdown on human rights defenders, journalists, and activists in Azerbaijan. On August 3, 2024, Afgan Sadigov was detained in Tbilisi at the request of the Azerbaijani prosecutor's office, which requested his extradition in connection with a criminal extortion case. The journalist claimed his innocence and said that he had already received threats in Georgia from "people from Azerbaijan." Sadigov's family was able to leave Georgia; his wife and daughters are currently in France.
The extortion charges against Sadigov raise doubts, noted Khalid Aghaliyev, head of the Media Rights Group. "Afgan Sadygov left the country at the end of December 2023. And then, suddenly, five months later, a criminal case was opened against him. If he was extorting money from someone, then why were complaints filed against him five months later? "It is highly likely that he is being persecuted for criticizing the government and individual officials," he said. Agaliyev added that Sadigov "does not always adhere to journalistic ethics," but Azerbaijani law provides for separate penalties for defamation and insult.
Azerbaijan demanded that Georgian authorities extradite Sadigov, and the journalist was placed under arrest. On September 20, 2024, he went on a hunger strike in a Tbilisi pretrial detention center to protest his arrest and denial of political asylum. He only ended his hunger strike in January 2025.
Journalists from a number of media outlets, including Abzas Media, Meydan TV, Toplum TV, and Kanal-13, have been persecuted in Azerbaijan. The "Caucasian Knot" report "Serial Arrests of Journalists in Azerbaijan.
In 2024, the number of political prisoners in Azerbaijan reached its highest level in the country's 23 years of membership in the Council of Europe, according to the "Caucasian Knot" report "Key Points to the Record Number of Political Prisoners in Azerbaijan." At the same time, the Azerbaijani authorities deny the existence of political prisoners in the country.