Journalist Afgan Sadigov has been arrested in Azerbaijan following his deportation from Georgia. His lawyer claims the arrest is part of a coordinated operation between Baku and Tbilisi regarding a case that was previously thought to be closed.

Journalist Afgan Sadigov, who was deported by Georgia to Azerbaijan in April, has been arrested, his lawyer, Tamta Mikeladze, confirmed on social media on June 9, noting that he was arrested “in connection with the same case under which Azerbaijan had sought his extradition,” after Baku “resumed” the investigation and prosecution. The confirmation of Sadigov’s detention comes a day after his wife said that he had been “forcibly” taken away by “masked individuals in plain clothes,” allegedly to the Prosecutor General’s Office of Azerbaijan. Mikeladze noted that in early April, “Azerbaijan’s official position was that the investigation and prosecution of the journalist in this case had been discontinued and, consequently, the extradition request was suspended, as there was no longer a legal basis for it.” “And now, 65 days after his deportation to Azerbaijan, he has been detained in the same case, on the same basis,” Mikeladze said, adding that the case “clearly shows” what she described as a “pre-planned,” “coordinated,” and “fabricated” operation between Baku and Tbilisi. Georgian authorities, who deported Sadigov on April 4 on the official grounds of “insulting a police officer on social media,” an administrative offense, argued that Baku’s earlier move to terminate the criminal case against the journalist made the February interim ruling by the European Court of Human Rights barring Georgia from extraditing him no longer relevant. Sadigov’s lawyers, however, disputed the legality of the deportation, saying the journalist would face “the gravest risks” to his life and safety in Azerbaijan. The journalist said on May 26 that he was not allowed to leave Azerbaijan, noting he was told at customs that the ban was imposed by Baku’s Prosecutor’s Office and Interior Ministry. Sadigov had lived in Georgia since 2023 and spent over seven months in extradition detention following his arrest by Georgian authorities in August 2024. He was released on bail in April 2025, after the ECtHR issued an interim ruling barring his extradition to Azerbaijan. The deportation came a day before Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s official visit to Georgia, where he met, among others, with Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili. Also Read: 06/04/2026 – Afgan Sadigov Briefly Detained, Released Day After Deportation to Azerbaijan 06/04/2026 – Afgan Sadigov Free in Baku but Faces ‘Uncertainty’ After Deportation From Georgia Afgan Sadigov Copy URL