Reporters Without Borders and the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe have issued a statement in connection with the abduction of Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Mukhtarli in Tbilisi.

“The Georgian authorities must immediately explain what happened to Afghan Mukhtarli, and provide security guarantees to other Azerbaijani dissidents based in Georgia,” the organization said.

“It does not matter who abducted Mukhtarli – the Azerbaijani operatives or the Georgian security forces: it is a very serious incident that will not be left without consequences. We demand the immediate release of Afgan Mukhtarli, who was tortured and ill-treated. The use of fabricated accusations against independent journalists is standard practice in Azerbaijan, the ruling regime once again has showed that it can create problems outside the country, and it’s time to answer for all these actions”, the statement says.

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