About Civil.ge
Eng | Geo | Rus
Last updated: 10:55 - 1 May.'18
RSS
Mobile
Twitter
Facebook
Afgan Mukhtarli Sentenced to Six Years in Prison
Civil Georgia, Tbilisi / 13 Jan.'18 / 11:00

Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Mukhtarli, who went missing from Tbilisi on May 29 and appeared in a detention facility in Baku a day later, was sentenced to six years in prison by Belaqani District Court in North-Western Azerbaijan.

The prosecution, which was accusing Mukhtarli of illegal border crossing, smuggling money and police disobedience, demanded eight-year imprisonment, but the court sentenced him to six years in jail.

Mukhtarli’s defense lawyers condemned the Azerbaijani journalist’s arrest as “politically motivated” and demanded his acquittal. They also said the detainee did not cross the border voluntarily and that he was kidnapped from Georgia.

Speaking at the court hearing on January 12, Mukhtarli said his persecution was due to his journalistic and investigative activities into Azerbaijani government’s corrupt deals. “You can arrest or kill us, but others will continue the struggle. Our goal is not to overthrow Ilham Aliyev, but to give people hope,” Radio Liberty quoted him as saying.

Mukhtarli’s wife, Azerbaijani journalist and activist Leila Mustafayeva commented on the matter as well, calling the verdict “a joint decision of Georgian and Azerbaijani authorities, since the Georgian Dream’s government led by Prime Minister Kvirikashvili, is complicit in Afgan’s arrest and imprisonment.” “It was a crime organized in Georgia and continued in Azerbaijan,” Mustafayeva said in her Facebook post.
 
Levan Asatiani, Amnesty International’s Regional Campaigner on South Caucasus, said Afgan Mukhtarli “is a prisoner of conscience and must be immediately and unconditionally released.”

The U.S. Department of State expressed its concern as well. “We urge the government of Azerbaijan to release Mr. Mukhtarli and all those incarcerated for exercising their fundamental freedoms,” reads the statement released on January 12.

“We continue to closely follow the Georgian investigation into the reported abduction, and reiterate our call that it be full, transparent, and timely,” the Department of State also said.

Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Mukhtarli went missing from Tbilisi on May 29. A day later he appeared in a detention facility in Baku arrested on charges of illegal border crossing, smuggling money and police disobedience.
 
President Giorgi Margvelashvili, opposition parties, journalists, civil society organizations and international organizations have slammed the Government of Georgia for its handling of the case and the investigation.
 
Mukhtarli’s wife Leyla Mustafayeva, who stayed in Tbilisi for several months after Mukhtarli’s detention and urged the Georgian government, on numerous occasions, to effectively investigate the case, left the country for Europe in early October.
 
Speaking to the parliamentary opposition during the parliamentary confidence vote hearings last December, Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili said: “This is a very difficult issue and we acknowledge that it was a very serious failure.”

RELATED
Latest News
01 May.'18 10:55
We Have Moved to a New Platform
Direct Your Bookmarks to https://civil.ge.
29 Apr.'18 03:54
Ruling Party Candidate Wins MP By-Elections
Givi Chichinadze will represent Vani and Khoni single-mandate constituency in the Parliament of Georgia.
28 Apr.'18 09:40
Polls Open for Vani and Khoni MP By-Elections
48,123 voters are eligible to cast their ballots in Vani and Khoni single-mandate constituency.
27 Apr.'18 17:23
State Dept’s Europe Affairs Point Man to Visit Tbilisi
Wess Mitchell will meet senior government officials and address the NATO-Georgia Public Diplomacy Forum.
27 Apr.'18 13:45
In Quotes: Georgian Politicians on Ex-PM Bidzina Ivanishvili’s Comeback
Bidzina Ivanishvili will be approved as the Georgian Dream party chairman at the upcoming convention.
26 Apr.'18 18:15
SG Jens Stoltenberg: Georgia NATO’s ‘Very Close’ Partner
The NATO Secretary General says Foreign Ministers meeting tomorrow will recognize the country’s progress.
26 Apr.'18 14:24
Ex-PM Ivanishvili to Chair Georgian Dream Party
Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili said Ivanishvili was ‘best equipped’ to add new dynamism to the party.
26 Apr.'18 11:12
Lawmaker Proposes Criminal Liability for ‘Insult of Religious Feelings’
The parliamentary human rights committee decided to set up a working group for scrutinizing the draft law.
25 Apr.'18 17:21
New Abkhaz Government Head Appointed
Gennady Gagulia has served as the Abkhaz “prime minister” twice - in 1995-1997, and 2002-2003.
25 Apr.'18 14:43
Watchdog Improves Georgia’s Press Freedom Ranking
None of the countries of the former Soviet Union (except the Baltics) are ranked ahead of Georgia.

About Civil Georgia
Civil.Ge © 2001-2024, Daily News Online
Registered office: 2 Dolidze Str, 4-th Floor.
22