The wife reported the latest arrest of Azerbaijani journalist Sadygov.
Sevinj Sadigova reported that her husband was abducted by unknown individuals wearing masks and civilian clothes.
As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," security forces prevented Afgan Sadigov from flying out of Baku, a decision he called unfounded. The journalist's wife expressed concern that Azerbaijani authorities plan to reopen his criminal prosecution.
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 forces 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.
Sevinj Sadigova, the wife of Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Sadigova, reported that her husband was abducted by unknown individuals. According to her, they were not wearing uniforms and were wearing masks.
"Four to five masked men in civilian clothes burst into the place where Afgan was located and forcibly took him away," Sevinj Sadigova wrote on her Facebook page*.
According to her, no information was provided about where they took Afgan Sadigova and her husband, or for what reason.
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 requested his extradition in connection with a criminal extortion case. The journalist protested his innocence and said that he had already received threats in Georgia from "people from Azerbaijan." Sadigov's family was able to leave Georgia.