Afgan Mukhtarli: “I am the victim of the business interests of the president of Azerbaijan and an influential Georgian businessman"

Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Mukhtarli asserts that his kidnapping from Tbilisi last year took place with the direct participation of influential businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili (the former prime minister of Georgia) and with the agreement of current Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili.

Mukhtarli, who was sentenced to six years in prison in Azerbaijan, was released for two days from prison in order to attend a memorial ceremony for his close relatives. At the end of December last year, Mukhtarli’s sister and her two children were found dead in their apartment. An official investigation was conducted which stated the cause of death as carbon monoxide poisoning.

Mukhtarli gave an interview to Rustavi 2 shortly after being released, and said that before he was kidnapped from Tbilisi he was busy with research looking into the mutual business interests of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Bidzina Ivanishvili.

“While I was in Georgia, I was studying the businesses of Ilham Aliyev. He has big assets in the tourism sphere in Georgia. He has several hotels and land plots in Georgia. He owns the Silk Way airline company and the Silk Way organization in Georgia. His main partner in Georgia is Bidzina Ivanishvili. I am a victim mainly of their business interests. I encountered problems when I touched upon this issue,” stated Mukhtarli.

The journalist asserts that his kidnapping in Georgia was agreed upon with the Prime Minister of Georgia, Giorgi Kvirikashvili.

“The judicial process in Georgia is transparent. That’s why, obeying the the law, Georgia was unable to hand me over to Azerbaijan, and for that reason they had to kidnap me. Without the permission of the Prime Minister they would not have been able to get me across the border,” stated Mukhtarli.

Mukhtarli says he intends to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

“Kvirikashvili must take responsibility for what has been done,” says Mukhtarli.

Mukhtarli’s statements did not miss the attention of Georgian officials.

“After saying such words, I am entirely indifferent to the the fate of Afgan Mukhtarli. He is acting dishonorably to my country and its authorities,” said Zviad Kvachantirazde, a representative of the parliamentary majority.

“I am critical of the fact that the circumstances surrounding the kidnapping has still not been clarified, and, consequently, we do not know how he was kidnapped, even if he was kidnapped at all … Is there any evidence of his kidnapping, of what he and his spouse talk about? No, no evidence! For that reason, all their statements are irresponsible,” says Kvachantiradze.

“Afgan Mukhtarli’s statement which says that he was kidnapped and given over to the Azerbaijani side on the order of the Prime Minister is rather absurd,” says the chairwoman of the parliamentary committee on European Integration, Tamar Khulordava. She says that there are suspicions that these statements are being promulgated by individuals who are interested in worsening relations between Azerbaijan and Georgia.

•Afgan Mukhtarli moved to Tbilisi in 2014. He disappeared from the Georgian capital on 29 May 2017. Later, he told his lawyer that he had been kidnapped by employees of the Georgian police, and that he was in Baku.

• On 12 January 2018, an Azerbaijani court sentenced Mukhtarli to six years in prison for illegally crossing the border, for the possession of contraband, and resisting arrest.

• On 15 June 2017, the European Parliament called on the authorities of Azerbaijan to ‘immediately release Afgan Mukhtarli and recall the charges laid against him’.