Azerbaijan extends detention of Azel.TV chief after rights challenge

Afghan Sadygov

An Azerbaijani court has extended the pre-trial detention of Azel.TV director Afghan Sadygov until October, following an exchange between Azerbaijan's chief prosecutor and the Council of Europe over his arrest.

Sadygov’s wife, Sevinj Sadygova, confirmed that Binagadi District Court in Baku extended his detention, which was previously due to expire on 30 July.

The decision follows a sharp response from Prosecutor General Kamran Aliyev to Michael O'Flaherty, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, who had questioned the legal grounds for Sadygov's re-arrest and detention.

O'Flaherty wrote to Aliyev asking why criminal proceedings against Sadygov had been reopened after being dropped earlier this year, and why authorities applied pre-trial detention instead of a milder measure.

Aliyev rejected the commissioner's concerns, saying the investigation was fully objective and that external interference in the judicial process was unacceptable.

He said the extortion case was reopened by court order after alleged victims successfully appealed against the initial decision to dismiss it.

Aliyev also insisted that Sadygov does not hold official status as a journalist.

Under Azerbaijan's 2022 Media Law, both an individual and their media organisation must be registered on the official Media Registry to be legally recognised as a journalist.

Sadygov is charged with extortion under Article 182.2 of the criminal code, accused of demanding money by threatening to publish damaging information online. He denies the charges.

The broadcaster was forcibly deported from Tbilisi to Baku in April by Georgian authorities, shortly after Azerbaijani prosecutors initially closed the case against him.

His lawyer in Georgia described the deportation as a coordinated operation between both governments, noting it took place despite a previous temporary injunction by the European Court of Human Rights blocking his extradition.

Rights group Human Rights Watch condemned the deportation, warning that Georgian authorities had exposed Sadygov to a high risk of politically motivated persecution and ill-treatment without assessing the dangers.

Sadygov has faced previous legal proceedings in Azerbaijan, including a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence in 2017 on assault charges, which was later reduced on appeal. He has consistently maintained that all charges against him are fabricated.