Azerbaijani Court Denies Motion to Release Journalist Afgan Sadigov

The Lankaran Grave Crimes Court on October 23 denied the defense's motion to release journalist Afgan Sadigov from custody. According to the journalist's wife, Sevinj Sadigova, and lawyer Nemat Kerimli, the court also postponed a decision on whether Sadigov should be brought out of the glass cage into the courtroom. The next hearing is scheduled for November 2.

Citing the publication Kavkazsky Uzel, the lawyer told the court that there are no longer any circumstances justifying Sadigov's continued detention. In his view, there is no basis to assume that, if released, the journalist would conceal or falsify evidence. The defense requested that Sadigov be released until the end of the trial and until the verdict enters into legal force.

The defense also requested that Sadigov be brought out of the glass cage and allowed to sit beside his lawyer. The lawyer cited precedent decisions of the European Court of Human Rights and stated that placing a defendant in such conditions undermines his dignity and makes the exercise of his rights more difficult. The court postponed consideration of this issue until the next hearing.

Afgan Sadigov does not admit the charges against him. He is accused of group extortion by threat in pre-arranged conspiracy, extortion by threat for the purpose of seizing property of significant value, and repeated extortion.

The Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan reopened a criminal case against Sadigov that had previously been terminated. On June 8, the court placed him in pre-trial detention, and in July the detention period was extended until October 30. The Baku Court of Appeal rejected the appeal against the detention decision.

On February 28, 2025, the European Court of Human Rights barred the extradition of Sadigov to Azerbaijan pending the examination of the case on its merits. Nevertheless, on April 4, 2025, the journalist was detained in Tbilisi on the basis of an administrative case, and on the following day he was expelled to Azerbaijan and handed over to employees of the Azerbaijani Migration Service. This occurred after Azerbaijan had temporarily suspended criminal prosecution against Sadigov and notified Georgia of this. Upon arrival, the journalist was informed that the criminal case against him had been terminated and he was released.

At the end of June, Michael O'Flaherty, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, asked the Azerbaijani authorities to explain the reasons for reopening the case against Sadigov. He also stated that pre-trial detention should be applied only in exceptional cases. The Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan maintains that the journalist's case is related to criminal charges and has no connection to his professional activities.

The Azerbaijani Political Prisoners' Freedom Fighters Union recognized Afgan Sadigov as a political prisoner.