The wife of Afghan Sadygov held a protest in front of the Georgian government's office

The wife of Afghan Sadygov, the founder of the Azerbaijani website Azel.Tv, who was arrested in Georgia, held a protest in front of the Georgian government's office on November 6. She called on the Georgian authorities to release her husband. Sadygov’s wife stated that her husband had been on a hunger strike for 47 days in protest of his illegal arrest. The police did not interfere with the protest, and several government officials came out to meet her.

"I informed them that my husband was illegally arrested. He is being held in detention on a political order from the Azerbaijani government. The police, the prosecutor’s office, and the courts of Georgia are not following the laws of their own country. If they were following the law, Afghan would have been granted political asylum,” she said.

“We no longer want to stay in Georgia, we want to leave for a third country,” Sadygov’s wife added. According to her, her husband's health, as he is being held in a prison hospital, is extremely serious.

"Afghan doesn’t have the strength to get up. The latest tests, according to the doctors, showed that Afghan could slip into a coma at any moment," she said.

Afghan Sadygov arrived in Georgia with his family in December 2023, fearing persecution. In July, he was not allowed to leave Georgia for Turkey, being told he could only return to Azerbaijan.

In August, at Azerbaijan's request, Sadygov was detained. He is accused of extortion in Baku, 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, his  health worsened due to the hunger strike, and he was transferred to a prison hospital.