Afgan Sadigov
On November 28, the Tbilisi City Court ruled to extradite Afgan Sadigov, the head of the website Azel.TV, to Azerbaijan. This was reported by his wife Sevinj Sadigova. The defense will appeal the court's decision.
The Center for Social Justice of Georgia, which defends the rights of the journalist, reported that the country's Prosecutor General's Office filed a petition with the court, requesting Afgan Sadigov's extradition to Azerbaijan.
Afgan Sadigov and his defense lawyers stated in court that his extradition to Azerbaijan would mean political persecution for his criticism of government corruption.
The defense presented the court with facts that Sadigov had previously been persecuted, tortured, and inhumanely treated, and this would be repeated if he were extradited.
However, the court did not take all these statements into account.
* Afgan Sadigov and his family arrived in Georgia in December 2023, fearing persecution. In July, he was not allowed to leave Georgia for Turkey, saying that he could only return to Azerbaijan.
In August, Sadigov was taken into custody at the request of Azerbaijan. In Baku, he is accused of extortion and extradition is being sought. Since September 21, he has been on a hunger strike, protesting his arrest and the refusal to grant him asylum.
On October 8, as a result of the hunger strike, his condition worsened and he was transferred to a prison hospital. The Georgian authorities refused to grant him political asylum.
Politics
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On January 7, the head of state, Ilham Aliyev, gave an interview to local TV channels. As of 18:00, the content of the interview had not been published.
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In late December, the Nakhchivan Court for Serious Crimes concluded the trial of former Minister of Finance of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (NAR), Rafael Aliyev, and former head of the Nakhchivan Customs Committee’s department, Mansur Askerov. Both were accused of embezzling state budget funds in collusion with others. In his testimony, Askerov revealed that illegal fees were being collected for cargo and from passengers. Sahat Habibbeyli, appointed head of Nakhchivan Customs in 2020, had instructed Askerov to include only a portion of the collected funds in the Transport and International Relations (TIR) program.
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The "Republican Alternative" Party (REAL) has proposed a program to reform local governance ahead of the municipal elections on January 29, aiming to expand opportunities for economic activity at the municipal level. The new program has been developed with consideration of the existing economic problems in the country. The government of Azerbaijan seeks to obtain external loans for its projects, the economic feasibility of which raises doubts.
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On January 7, the head of state signed a decree to raise the salaries of employees in a number of budgetary organizations by 15% starting from January 1.
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