Prime Minister of Georgia called to refrain from speculation in the case of Mukhtarly

Baku / 01.06.17 / Turan: Georgian Prime Minister Georgy Kvirikashvili urged the public to refrain from premature conclusions on the case of the kidnapping of Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Mukhtarly from Tbilisi, Georgia online reported.

According to Mukhtarly's lawyers, he was detained by unknown persons in the center of Tbilisi on May 29, and was forcibly transferred to Baku, where the authorities accused him of illegally crossing the border, smuggling and resisting the border police officer.

The spouse Afgan Mukhtarly and his lawyers believe that the Georgian government helped Azerbaijan in the kidnapping of the opposition journalist.

"Discredit of the institutions that work and care for national security is unacceptable. The Minister of Internal Affairs made a statement, we have a connection with our Azerbaijani counterparts, and I call to refrain from premature conclusions before the end of the investigation. If we help reduce confidence in state institutions, it will be very difficult for us to really protect the security of our country," Kvirikashvili said at today's government meeting. Kvirikashvili ruled out the involvement of the Georgian special services in kidnapping the journalist and called for the earliest possible time to establish the circumstances of the incident.

"Of course, I urge the law enforcers to do everything as soon as possible to ensure that this issue is investigated and that no one doubts about protecting human rights in our country ... This is absolutely unacceptable, and, of course, I rule out that state structures were involved in something like that. We are investigating, we will wait for the results," the premier concluded.

Earlier today, the head of the Georgian Interior Ministry issued an official statement on the case, excluding the possible involvement of law enforcement officials in the kidnapping an opposition Azerbaijani journalist.