22:53, 21 April 2021

Azerbaijani journalist Afghan Mukhtarly recognized as a victim in kidnapping case

Afghan Mukhtarly. Screenshot of the video by MeydanTV https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LtzU1NONvU

After questioning Afghan Mukhtarly, who returned to Georgia, the Prosecutor’s Office granted him the status of a victim and also reclassified the actions of the people, who kidnapped the Azerbaijani journalist, to a more serious article.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on April 8, Afghan Mukhtarly claimed that during five years, the General Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia had not made any progress in the investigation into his kidnapping.

In May 2017, Afghan Mukhtarly, who migrated to Georgia, was forcibly brought to Baku. In January 2018, a court sentenced him to six years of imprisonment on the charge of illegal border crossing, smuggling, and rendering resistance to a public officer. However, in March 2020, the court commuted the Afghan Mukhtarly’s sentence: he was released and came to Germany. The journalist believes that he was kidnapped with the consent of the Georgia’s authorities.

The Prosecutor’s Office granted the motion filed by Archil Chopikashvili, a lawyer of the NGO “Rights of Georgia”, and Afghan Mukhtarly was granted the status of a victim.

On April 9, the Prosecutor’s Office questioned Afghan Mukhtarly, and the journalist claimed that he was under constant surveillance before his kidnapping. The journalist provided photos of two persons who watched him in Georgia and suggested that it was with their help that his kidnapping from Tbilisi was planned, the “News-Georgia” reports.

Afghan Mukhtarly also provided the detailed information concerning the place of his kidnapping and the movements of the kidnappers, the “Georgia Online” reports.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 21, 2021 at 01:38 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.