Afghan Mukhtarly's family members refuse to apply for Georgian citizenship

Leyla Mustafaeva, the wife of Azerbaijani journalist Afghan Mukhtarly, has announced the decision of the journalist's family members to refuse applying for Georgian citizenship. The woman has explained the decision by her reluctance to live and work in the country where her husband had been kidnapped.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the Georgian Prime Minister appealed to the President of the country with a request to grant Georgian citizenship to the spouse and children of the Azerbaijani journalist. The chief of the Georgian presidential administration has reported that Georgian citizenship will be granted to the Afghan Mukhtarly's family members in case if they apply for it.

"I will live in Georgia while the investigation is being conducted in order to monitor its progress," said Leyla Mustafaeva.

According to her, the initiative of the authorities to grant the Georgian citizenship to the journalist's family members "is connected with the press conference held by an advocate of Afghan Mukhtarly on June 3. The advocate has reported that the journalist had been "kidnapped definitely in Tbilisi."

"After that, diplomats and international organizations showed their interest in the case. I believe that the idea of granting Georgian citizenship to us is connected with the desire to improve the Georgia's image in the eyes of the international community," Leyla Mustafaeva has added.

She has also mentioned that in 2016, she appealed to the Georgian authorities with a request to grant her residence permit, but was refused.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.