On July 23, the Binagadi District Court extended the pretrial detention of Afgan Sadigov, the head of the YouTube channel Azel TV, by three months. The information was confirmed to Qazetci by Sadigov’s lawyer, Nemat Karimli.
“The court ruled to extend the pretrial detention until October 30. During the hearing, the investigator stated that new complaints against journalist Afgan Sadigov had been submitted to the Prosecutor General’s Office,” Karimli said.
When Sadigov was detained, he was charged under Articles 182.2.1 and 182.2.4 of Azerbaijan’s Criminal Code. The charges relate to extortion allegedly committed by a group acting in prior collusion and to obtain property of significant value.
On June 30, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, sent an inquiry to Prosecutor General Kamran Aliyev regarding Sadigov’s case.
In his July 7 response, Aliyev stated that Sadigov had also been charged under Article 182.2.2 of the Criminal Code, which concerns repeated commission of the alleged offense. This indicates that the additional charge had been brought at least two weeks earlier.
In the same letter, the Prosecutor General also stated that the investigative authorities had received new complaints against the journalist.
Lawyer Nemat Karimli told Qazetci that the defense had not been provided with the new complaints and would only be able to review them during the investigation.
Sadigov was deported from Georgia to Azerbaijan on April 5, 2026. On June 8, the Binagadi District Court ordered his pretrial detention until July 30.
The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom has described Afgan Sadigov’s deportation from Georgia to Azerbaijan as a stark example of transnational repression, demanding urgent international intervention.