Georgian Prime Minister Awaits Completion of Investigation into Abduction of Afgan Mukhtarly

Baku / 11.04.19 / Turan: Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze commented on the situation surrounding the abduction of the Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Mukhtarly in Tbilisi and his transfer to the Azerbaijani authorities.

A question on this topic was asked during his speech at the PACE session in Strasbourg on April 10.

The question was asked by the rapporteur of the PACE Monitoring Committee on Azerbaijan, Stefan Schennach. He asked what the authorities did to identify and punish the persons involved in the abduction.

"The Afghan Mukhtarly case is very sensitive. Of course, we maintain contacts with our Azerbaijani colleagues and coordinate our work. The investigation continues and I will be able to give my assessments when the investigation is completed," Bakhtadze said.

Stefan Schennach wrote in his Twitter that Bakhtadze"s answer was not really satisfying - only to say it's a sensitive case. "But the Georgian government has a responsibility! I have a strong feeling they don't realize it and ignore that violence of human right," Schennach noted.

Recall that the Azerbaijani opposition journalist Afgan Mukhtarly was abducted by police officers in the center of Georgia in May 2017. After a day he found himself in Baku, where he was arrested on charges of illegally crossing the border and smuggling. The court deprived him of his liberty for 6 years. -02D-