Azerbaijani authorities reject criticism for sentencing Ismayilova

The Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) finds any interference in the work of the court and attempts to politicize the verdict to Khadija Ismayilova, a journalist of the Azerbaijani bureau of "Radio Liberty" unacceptable, Khikmet Gadjiev, the press secretary of the MFA, has stated today.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on September 2, the Baku Court of Grave Crimes sentenced Khadija Ismayilova to 7.5 years of imprisonment.

According to Khikmet Gadjiev’s story, "attempts to interfere with investigators' work and put pressure on the court were noticed already at the stage of investigation into Ismayilova's case." "Such attempts are treated as interference into the country's sovereignty," said Gadjiev, recalling that "under the law, every citizen has the right to challenge the court's judgement."

In their turn, the USA, UK and EU, have called on the Azerbaijani authorities to reconsider the journalist's case and release her.

The United States are deeply concerned about the decision of the Azerbaijani court to sentence the journalist Khadija Ismayilova to seven and a half years in prison, says the statement of the press service of the US State Department released late on September 1.

Ismayilova, along with the rights defender Leyla Yunus, has been put on the list of 20 women, kept in jails around the world, for whom the US State Department has launched a campaign to release them. The above list was posted on her Twitter by Samantha Power, the US permanent representative to the United Nations.

The verdict of the Azerbaijani court to Khadija Ismayilova is a sign of the complicated situation of independent journalists in Azerbaijan, said Federica Mogherini, the head of EU diplomacy, and Johannes Hahn, a member of the Commission on European Neighbourhood Policy.

"We call on the Azerbaijani authorities to revise her case through a transparent and fair process in full compliance with the international commitments of Azerbaijan, including the freedom of mass media," says the joint statement of Mogherini and Hahn released in the evening on September 1 in Brussels.

A statement condemning the verdict to Ismayilova was also made by David Lidington, the British Minister for European Affairs.

"I am deeply concerned about the conviction of Khadija Ismayilova. I am also concerned about reports on how the trial was run; and I urge the Azerbaijani authorities to revise the case in a fair and transparent manner," says Mr Lidington's statement released today by the British Embassy in Baku.

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