Afgan Sadygov encountered obstacles in obtaining a passport

Police detained Afgan Sadigov, a journalist deported from Georgia, while collecting his Azerbaijani internal ID card. He was later released, informed that he was still listed as wanted in the database, and was given the document.

As reported by the Caucasian Knot, security forces detained Afgan Sadigov in Baku on April 6. An hour later, the journalist was released from police custody, but he was warned of the possibility of further arrests. On April 10, Afgan Sadigov applied to the State Services Center for an identity document—an internal Azerbaijani passport—but was denied because his military registration information had "disappeared" from the system.

Afgan Sadigov was detained on the afternoon of April 25 in the city of Masalli in southern Azerbaijan, his wife reported.

“When Afgan was hastily detained in Tbilisi for deportation to Baku, he was not allowed to take his belongings and documents, and his identity card (internal passport - Caucasian Knot note) remained in Georgia. Two weeks ago, he was denied an identity card in Baku under the pretext that his military registration data had disappeared from the system. Afgan contacted the military registration and enlistment office of Baku's Khatai district, where he was informed that a technical glitch had deleted information about a number of individuals, including himself, and that his registration would be restored in the coming days. Finally, a few days ago "Afgan was told that there were "no more problems" and that he could come and get an ID card. "So Afghan was in the city of Masalli today and decided to get the document there," Sevinj Sadygova told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

However, according to her, the police were called to the State Services Center when Sadygov tried to get an ID card and he was detained.

"Afgan was taken to the Masalli District Police Department. There, they told Afghan that, according to their "system," Afghan was wanted. This is despite the fact that three weeks ago Azerbaijan officially closed the criminal case, and on this basis, Georgia, in violation of the ECHR ruling, extradited him to Baku, allegedly due to the elimination of the threat of arrest in its country. However, some time later, apparently after consultations with the higher-ups, Afghan was given an ID card, but they said that he was still in the system. "He is listed as wanted, and this information will be removed from the system on the first day of the next work week," Sadygova noted.

According to her, now that he has received his ID, Sadygova will apply for a foreign passport. "This is a completely understandable and legitimate intention. We, Afgan's family, are in France, and he wants to reunite with us. I hope the authorities will not create obstacles for Afgan. He has already suffered a lot due to unfounded criminal cases and arrests," said the journalist's wife.