Journalist Sadygov faces travel ban from Azerbaijan
Security officials prevented Afgan Sadygov from leaving Baku, a decision he called unfounded. The journalist's wife expressed concern that Azerbaijani authorities plan to reopen his criminal prosecution.
As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," on April 10, Afgan Sadygov, editor-in-chief of the news website Azel.tv, who was deported from Georgia to his homeland, was denied a passport, citing a lack of military registration information. In late April, Sadygov applied for a foreign passport, but was denied it, citing a wanted list. On May 1, Afgan Sadigov received a passport, but his wife, who lives with their daughters in France, expressed concern that the journalist would be prevented from leaving Azerbaijan.
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 against Sadigov and notified Georgia, and on April 4, Sadigov was detained in Tbilisi on administrative charges. The following 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 informed that the criminal case against him had been dropped, and released.
On the night of May 26, Afgan Sadigov published a video message on Facebook* from the Baku airport. "I'm at Baku International Airport. I haven't been allowed to leave Azerbaijan. There's no investigation against me," Sadigov said, as translated into Russian by a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
According to the journalist, he was told that the travel ban was imposed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan.
He also recalled that the Prosecutor General's Office had previously closed the criminal case against him, and based on this decision, Georgian authorities deported him to Azerbaijan, contrary to the ECHR ruling.
Azerbaijani authorities are trampling on the country's Constitution.
Afgan Sadigov called the restriction of his rights "arbitrary." "The Azerbaijani authorities are trampling on the country's Constitution. If the governments of Azerbaijan and Georgia, in collusion, so easily and blatantly violate international law and the decision of the European Court of Human Rights and deport me to Azerbaijan, then any crime or threat can be expected from them," he said.
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.
The journalist's wife, Sevinj Sadigova, who is in political exile in France, expressed fears that he could be arrested in Azerbaijan.
The regime's goal is to buy time.
"The regime's goal is to win "It's time, and Afgan Sadygov will be arrested again, this time under a new scenario," Sevinj Sadygova wrote on Facebook*, whose words were translated into Russian by a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
A "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was unable to contact Afgan and Sevinj Sadygova on social media today, nor was it able to obtain comments from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor General's Office.
Banning people from leaving Azerbaijan is practiced not only against government critics but also against their relatives. For example, on May 15, security forces prevented the elderly parents of opposition blogger Tural Sadigli from leaving the country, who were planning to visit their sons in Europe. In April, the ECHR sent questions to the Azerbaijani authorities regarding complaints from 16 people who alleged an unlawful ban on leaving the country. The complaints were filed by journalists, civil society activists, and experts who are involved in criminal cases as witnesses or suspects. The ECHR previously ordered compensation to journalist Khadija Ismayilova for being unlawfully banned from leaving Azerbaijan. The defense called the ECHR decision an important precedent in disputes over travel restrictions.
As a reminder, 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 sought his extradition in connection with a criminal extortion case. The journalist maintained his innocence and said that he had already received threats in Georgia from "people from Azerbaijan." Sadygov's family was able to leave Georgia.
The extortion charges against Sadygov raise doubts, noted Khalid Agaliyev, head of the Media Rights Group. "Afgan Sadygov left the country at the end of December 2023. And suddenly, five months later, a criminal case was opened against him. If he extorted 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 Sadygov "does not always adhere to journalistic ethics," but Azerbaijani law provides for separate penalties for defamation and insult.
After Azerbaijan demanded that Georgian authorities extradite Sadygov, 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.
After his release from pretrial detention, Afgan Sadigov regularly participated in protests by Georgian residents. In the fall of 2025, he served several administrative arrests for participating in blockading Tbilisi streets. On October 23, Sadigov was sentenced to 14 days in jail and also received 54 fines totaling almost $100,000.
In Azerbaijan, journalists from several media outlets, including Abzas Media, Meydan TV, Toplum TV, and Kanal-13, were persecuted. You can read about what led to the new wave of repression against the independent press in the "Caucasian Knot" report "Serial Arrests of Journalists in Azerbaijan".