Azerbaijani journalist Afghan Mukhtarli granted victim’s status

Azerbaijani journalist Afghan Mukhtarli has been granted victim’s status. According to Rights Georgia lawyer Archil Chopikashvili, his motion was granted by the prosecutor's office and the categorization of the case was clarified.

“An investigative experiment was conducted with the participation of Afghan Mukhtarli and Rights Georgia and almost four years after the start of the investigation, a motion filed by lawyer Archil Chopikashvili has been granted, and Azerbaijani journalist Afghan Mukhtarli, who was abducted by unidentified individuals from Tbilisi in May 2017 and was handed over to the Azerbaijani authorities, has been granted victim’s status. In addition, the categorization of the case was specified. The investigation, which was previously carried out under the first part of Article 143 of the Criminal Code (unlawful deprivation of liberty), will continue under Article 143, part three, sub-subparagraph "a", which pertains to deprivation of liberty by a group with prior agreement”, reads the statement released by the Rights Georgia.