The undersigned organizations express deep concern about the alleged forced disappearance of the Azerbaijani civil activist and journalist Afgan Mukhtarli in Tbilisi on the evening of May 29. According to recent information provided by his lawyer, the journalist was detained near his house in Tbilisi and forcibly placed into a car.

July 17 marks the adoption of the Rome Statute – founding treaty of the International Criminal Court – and is therefore commemorated as an International Justice Day. The creation of a permanent international criminal court which seeks to punish individuals most responsible for the gravest international crimes, such as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes has been a significant development for the protection of human rights and an important achievement for the international community.

Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association urges the investigating organs to investigate quickly, objectively and thoroughly the act of physical violence towards representative of United National Movement (UNM) and his family members in village Uraveli, Akhaltsikhe municipality on June 16, 2017 and investigate whether the mentioned violent act was on conducted political grounds.