22:48, 8 June 2026

Activists in Tbilisi reacted to Sadygov's arrest

Participants in a rally outside the Georgian parliament on the 558th day of continuous protests expressed solidarity with detained Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Sadigov and responded to the results of the parliamentary elections in Armenia.

As "Caucasian Knot" reported, on June 7, on the 557th day of continuous protests, participants in a rally on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi called for the release of political prisoners.

Supporters of Georgia's European integration, carrying national, EU, and US flags, gathered on Rustaveli Avenue outside the parliament building this evening for the 558th day in a row.

Demonstrators expressed their support for Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Sadigov, who, according to his wife, was detained today by unknown individuals wearing masks and civilian clothes. One participant held a poster reading "Freedom for Afgan Sadigov" in Azerbaijani, while another held a photograph of the journalist during a protest on Rustaveli, when he burned a photo of Kobakhidze and Putin, Publika reports.

On February 28, 2025, the ECHR banned Afgan Sadigov's extradition from Georgia to Azerbaijan pending a decision on the merits of the case. However, on April 1, Azerbaijan suspended the criminal prosecution of Sadigov and notified Georgia of this, and on April 4, Sadigov was arrested in Tbilisi on administrative charges. The next day, he was deported from the country and handed over to Azerbaijan's Migration Service. Before his deportation, Sadigov was a regular participant in protests outside the Georgian parliament. He had served several administrative arrests for participating in protests on Rustaveli Street and was sentenced to numerous large fines. After his deportation, protesters gathered outside the parliament under the slogan "Solidarity with Afghanistan."

The protesters also carried posters reading "We live in an antisocial state" and "Freedom for Mzia," according to a Facebook post by photographer Giorgi Mosiashvili (Mo Se)*.

The protesters in Tbilisi also reacted to the defeat of pro-Russian forces in the parliamentary elections in Armenia. "Russia has lost in Armenia too," read one poster. Civil Contract Party leader Nikol Pashinyan stated that Armenia will continue its course toward rapprochement with the European Union, although it will retain membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and continue to develop relations with both Russia and other member states of the union.

Protesters in Georgia have been demanding new parliamentary elections and the release of political prisoners since November 28, 2024. Security forces carried out violent dispersals of the protests, using tear gas and water cannons, and detained protesters. Thousands of people were subjected to administrative prosecution during the protests. The "Caucasian Knot" has prepared a report "The Main Points on the Persecution of Protesters in Georgia".

Translated automatically via Google translate from https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/423945