Afgan Sadygov: Jailed Azerbaijani journalist 'banned from contacting family'

Afgan Sadygov

The family of jailed Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Sadygov say they have been barred from contacting him in prison, two months after his controversial deportation from Georgia.

His wife, Sevinj Sadygova, said on Thursday that the founder of the independent Azel.TV news outlet had been banned from making phone calls from the Baku detention facility where he is being held.

Azerbaijani authorities have not commented on the restriction.

Mr Sadygov was arrested on 8 June after a Baku court ordered his detention until 30 July. The move followed the reopening of a 2024 extortion case against him, which had previously been closed.

Defence lawyer Namat Karimli said prosecutors revived the criminal case under Article 182 of the Criminal Code, which covers extortion on a large scale.

The decision came after the alleged victims successfully appealed a prosecutor's decision to drop the charges on 1 April.

Mr Sadygov has denied the allegations, describing them as politically motivated.

Prior to his arrest, the journalist had been barred from leaving Azerbaijan. In late May, border officials prevented him from exiting the country, citing restrictions placed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor General’s Office.

His family, who currently live in exile, have expressed deep concern over his safety.

The arrest is the latest development in a long-running legal battle that has drawn international criticism.

Mr Sadygov fled to Georgia with his family in December 2023 to escape pressure from Azerbaijani authorities. However, he was detained in Tbilisi in August 2024 following an extradition request from Baku.

Although the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) blocked his extradition to Azerbaijan, Georgian authorities deported him on 5 April under administrative procedures.

Human rights organisations, including Human Rights Watch (HRW), condemned the expulsion as a form of transnational repression.

Georgian authorities returned Sadygov to a country where he faces a risk of persecution," said Giorgi Gogia, HRW’s deputy director for Europe and Central Asia.

Azerbaijani authorities have consistently maintained that the charges against Mr Sadygov are purely criminal and unrelated to his journalistic work. Pro-government media outlets have portrayed the prosecution as a standard law-enforcement matter.

Independent watchdogs, however, have long criticised Azerbaijan's record on press freedom.

The country ranks poorly in international press rankings, with groups like Reporters Without Borders warning of systematic pressure on independent media.

Mr Sadygov has been targeted by the authorities before. In 2020, he was sentenced to seven years in prison on separate extortion charges, serving two years before being released under a presidential pardon.