Georgia’s Migration Service Denies Asylum to Afghan Sadigov

On September 16, Georgia’s Migration Service refused to grant asylum to Afghan Sadigov, an Azerbaijani citizen and founder of the Azel TV website, Sevinc Sadigova,  Sadigov’s wife confirmed  this information to the Turan agency. “Afghan called me from detention and said he received a response from the Migration Service, which states that his application for political asylum has been denied,” she reported. The Georgian authorities justified their refusal by citing the "lack of political motives in his case," Sevinc Sadigova added. Attempts to obtain a comment from Sadigov’s lawyer, Dito Nozadze, were futile.

Afghan Sadigov now faces the threat of deportation to Azerbaijan. A request for his deportation was submitted by the Azerbaijani General Prosecutor’s Office in July. The request noted that a criminal case was opened against Sadigov on May 10, accusing him of extortion, and a court decision declared him a wanted person.

It should be noted that Sadigov arrived in Georgia with his family in December 2023, fearing persecution. In mid-July, he was not allowed to travel from Georgia to Türkiye, with authorities informing him that he could only fly to Azerbaijan.