Azerbaijani BCA leaves journalist Khadija Ismayilova in custody

The Baku Court of Appeal (BCA) has dismissed the complaint lodged by the journalist Khadija Ismayilova against the refusal to place her under home arrest. Her defence treats Ismayilova's detention as illegal.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 5 Khadija Ismayilova was summoned to the Baku City Prosecutor's Office, where she was detained. After the interrogation, she was taken to the Sabail District Court of Baku, which put her into custody on charges of driving her former colleague Tural Mustafaev to suicide attempt.

"The consideration of the appeal was formal; and after a short trial the court rejected the appeal," said Yalchin Imanov, Khadija's advocate.

He believes that in respect to Ismayilova Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which guarantees personal freedom and security, was violated.

The human rights organization Amnesty International (AI) said that Ismayilova was arrested in Azerbaijan for political reasons and recognized her as a "prisoner of conscience". Ismayilova was one of the 10 winners of the contest "Hero of the Caucasus-2012", which was conducted by the "Caucasian Knot".

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.