NGOs Call for Proper Investigation into Azeri Journalist Mukhtarli Case
Non-governmental organizations once again released a statement regarding the high-profile case of the Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Mukhtarli, allegedly abducted from Georgia and taken to Baku in May 2017, asking for the effective investigation.
The NGOs stressed a number of questions remain unanswered even though two years have passed since the Azerbaijani journalist's disappearance from Tbilisi.
“Afgan Mukhtarli is currently serving a prison sentence for illegal crossing of the border, smuggling and disobedience to police in an Azerbaijani prison. The investigation into the alleged kidnapping of Afgan Mukhtarli is pending without any progress. A number of requests of Mukhtarli’s lawyers, including granting victim's status to him and his wife, have not been responded,” the statement reads.
The organizations remind that the Parliament of Georgia refused to set up an investigative commission to study the alleged kidnapping of the journalist.
The non-governmental sector says the disappearance of Afgan Mukhtarli from Tbilisi has affected Georgia's internal national or international image, adding the partners of Georgia, such as the United States, the European Union and the Council of Europe, as well as international NGOs working on human rights issues, have questions regarding the case.
The case has also been taken to the European Court of Human Rights.
The NGOs note that the successful completion of Mukhtarli’s case in the European Court will hurt the image of Georgia, as a state oriented to democracy and human rights protection.
Mukhtarli is a political migrant who left Azerbaijan around four years ago. In Tbilisi, he held protests in front of the Azerbaijan Embassy and wrote about the persecution of Azerbaijani activists in Georgia. He disappeared on May 29, 2017, and the following day was “found” in the Baku police department. He was accused of “illegal border crossing, smuggling, and resistance or application of violence concerning a representative of authority.”
In January 2018, Mukhtarli was sentenced to six years in prison by the Balakan District Court in Azerbaijan. The defense side appealed the decision but the court left Mukhtarli in prison.
The journalist claims he was abducted from Tbilisi for his investigations about top figures of Azerbaijan, their businesses in Georgia and connections with the Georgian government.
Mukhtarli’s wife, Leyla Mustafayeva, who is also an investigative journalist, stated that his husband’s verdict was part of a “joint deal” between the Georgian and Azerbaijani leadership.
The US President Donald Trump’s administration, the EU, OSCE, and other foreign organizations have demanded the release of the journalist. Freedom House report also includes the notorious case.
By Thea Morrison