Journalist Afghan Mukhtarli won his case against Georgia and Azerbaijan in the ECHR
Afghan Mukhtarli case
Azerbaijani journalist Afghan Mukhtarli won his case against Georgia and Azerbaijan in the European Court of Human Rights, with both countries ordered to pay him a total of €21,000.
- The court ruled that Georgia violated Articles 3 (Prohibition of Torture) and 5 (Right to Liberty and Security) of the Convention due to the lack of an effective investigation into Mukhtarli’s abduction, mistreatment, and illegal handover to Azerbaijani authorities.
- However, the court found that Georgia did not, in essence, violate Articles 3 and 5 of the Convention regarding mistreatment and detention.
- The ECHR ruled that Azerbaijan violated Article 5(3) (Right to Liberty and Security) and Article 8 (Right to Respect for Private and Family Life) of the Convention, but no violation of Article 5(1) was found.
- The court established that Azerbaijan violated Article 5(3) of the Convention, which requires that detainees be brought promptly before a judge or judicial authority and have the right to trial within a reasonable time or release pending trial, as well as Article 8 regarding respect for private and family life.
Afghan Mukhtarli: “Bidzina Ivanishvili is an accomplice in my abduction”
“I don’t believe that as long as Ivanishvili [oligarch, considered shadow ruler of Georgia] remains in power, this case will be investigated, because Ivanishvili is an accomplice in my abduction.
A senior official from Georgia’s State Security Service, who is now in prison, publicly stated this. He said the order came from Ivanishvili. But after the elections, when a democratic government comes to power in Georgia, this case will definitely be investigated.
In addition to me, two Russian opposition figures were abducted from central Tbilisi and are now in Russian prisons. Later, another Azerbaijani journalist, Saidoglu, was also kidnapped.
This could not have happened by accident, without Ivanishvili’s orders.
After I identified one of the three abductors, I approached the prosecutor’s office a year and a half ago, named the individual, but the investigation took no steps to uncover the truth.
The prosecutor’s office doesn’t even respond to calls about the status of the investigation or what has been established. This confirms that the system is not interested in investigating this case, as the accomplices in the abduction are themselves part of it,” Afghan Mukhtarli said in an interview with “TV Pirveli.”
The Afghan Mukhtarli case
Azerbaijani journalist Afghan Mukhtarli moved to Georgia in 2014. He was known for his sharp criticism and investigative articles against the Azerbaijani government. Facing persecution in his homeland, he sought refuge in Georgia.
On May 29, 2017, Mukhtarli was abducted in broad daylight in central Tbilisi, with a bag placed over his head.
The next day, May 30, Mukhtarli was found in an Azerbaijani prison. He was sentenced to six years for illegal border crossing, smuggling, and resisting authorities.
After three years in prison, on March 17, 2020, Mukhtarli was suddenly released and flown to Germany, where his wife and daughters had been living since 2019.
Seven years have passed since Mukhtarli’s abduction, yet the case remains uninvestigated in Georgia. The Georgian Prosecutor’s Office is officially investigating it under Article 143, Part 1 (illegal deprivation of freedom).
