13 October 2017, 17:59
Georgian MPs approve commission on Mukhtarly’s case
The proposal of representatives of the journalist Afghan Mukhtarly to set up a parliamentary commission to inquire into the actions of the officials involved in his kidnapping was supported by some MPs; however, the Georgian parliament has not yet decided on this initiative.
Afghan Mukhtarly, who left for Georgia in 2014, disappeared in Tbilisi on May 29. On May 30, he phoned his advocate and reported that he had been forcibly brought to Baku. On May 31, in Baku, the court arrested Afghan Mukhtarly for three months. The journalist was charged with violating the state border, smuggling and resisting a border guard. Afghan Mukhtarly denies the charges filed against him.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on October 10, Leyla Mustafaeva, Afghan Mukhtarly’s wife, and his advocate Archil Chopikashvili asked the Georgian parliament to set up a special commission for studying the circumstances of Afghan’s kidnapping.
According to the Constitution of Georgia and Regulations of the Parliament, MPs may raise the issue of responsibility of state authorities for the incident with Mukhtarly, Archil Chopikashvili, an Afghan’s advocate and the executive director of the NGO "Article 42 of the Constitution", told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
"How did it happen that a person without documents and outside any control could cross the state border? What were border guards and police doing and how do they explain all that? So far, the inquiry gave no results. The commission should find out investigators’ efficiency," he said.
Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.
Author: Galina Gotua Source: CK correspondent
