Opposition Blogger from Azerbaijan Found Dead in Tbilisi

Azerbaijani opposition blogger Huseyn Bakikhanov has been found dead in Tbilisi. The news portal Грузия Онлайн reports that initially, it was suggested that the man's body was discovered in the apartment where he lived; however, later reports began to circulate that Huseyn had fallen from a multistory building.

Friends of the blogger do not rule out that Bakikhanov's death may have been in the interest of the Azerbaijani government. According to one of them, Avtandil Mammadov, just two days before his death, Huseyn told him about a fight that took place in Tbilisi involving a group of Azerbaijanis. The blogger suggested that these men had attacked him on orders received from Baku.

Mammadov added that Huseyn had sought political asylum in Georgia because he faced persecution in his homeland. Also addressing the incident related to the fight was Azerbaijani investigative journalist Afgan Mukhtarli, who was abducted in Tbilisi in 2017 and subsequently sentenced in Baku. He called on Georgian media to investigate Bakikhanov's death, as he had been pursued by Azerbaijani authorities.

“On July 12, a group of Azerbaijanis assaulted an immigrant living in Tbilisi, who was being pursued by the Azerbaijani police. Huseyn reported to the police and requested a medical examination, but was denied an internal organ examination. He had not been heard from for a week,” Mukhtarli emphasized.

According to Mukhtarli, on May 7, during a protest action in Baku, Bakikhanov was detained. At that time, he was sentenced to 15 days in custody. After his release, the blogger told reporters that the police had tortured him and threatened him with rape. While in Tbilisi, Huseyn continued to criticize the Azerbaijani government through the media and his channel.