21 January 2016, 14:16
CE Commissioner joins Ismayilova's defence
Nils Muiznieks, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe (CE), has appealed to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in connection with the complaint of the Azerbaijani journalist Khadija Ismayilova against her illegal arrest, says the statement of the Commissioner's office, received today by the "Caucasian Knot".
On September 1 the Baku Court of Grave Crimes convicted Ismayilova and sentenced her to 7.5 years in prison. The journalist was found guilty of illegal entrepreneurship, tax evasion, misappropriation, embezzlement and abuse of power. The defence appealed against the sentence. On November 25, the Baku Court of Appeal (BCA) dismissed the complaint of Khadija Ismayilova and upheld the verdict of guilty.
According to the statement of Nils Muiznieks, the human rights situation in Azerbaijan, and repressive measures of pressure applied to them by the authorities are causing Mr Muiznieks' concern. The case of Khadija Ismayilova is treated as "an illustration of serious and systemic human rights violations in Azerbaijan."
On January 19, a joint written petition to the ECtHR on Ismayilova's case was also presented by the following human rights and journalistic organizations: "Article 19", "International Media Support", "Pen International", "International Partnership for Human Rights" and the "Committee to Protect Journalists".
The petition of the above five international organizations also treats Ismayilova's prosecution as "a consequence of systematic repressions used in Azerbaijan."
The international support of human rights organizations and the CE's Commissioner is considerably strengthening the position of Ismayilova defence, her advocate Fariz Namazly told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent today.
Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.
Author: Faik Medzhid Source: CK correspondent
