17:33, 25 November 2015

Verdict to Khadija Ismayilova upheld

Khadija Ismayilova. Photo: RFE/RL http://www.svoboda.org/

Today the Baku Court of Appeal (BCA) has rejected the appeal complaint lodged by journalist Khadija Ismayilova.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that 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.

39-year-old Khadija Ismayilova became well-known for her journalistic investigations into the facts of corruption in the highest echelons of power in Azerbaijan. In April 2013, she became one of the ten winners of the contest "Hero of the Caucasus-2012", conducted by the "Caucasian Knot". Since 2011, as a coordinator in Azerbaijan, Khadija Ismayilova took part in the project to highlight actions of organized crime and facts of corruption.

Today, the BCA has upheld the verdict of the first instance court to journalist Khadija Ismayilova, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

Her advocates asked the court to render a verdict of acquittal. Ismayilova herself told the court that "the charges against her had been fabricated and have to do with her professional activities."

Let us remind you that officials from the Council of Europe and the OSCE, as well as from the UN and the PACE, the United Kingdom and the United States demanded the release Ismayilova. However, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) treated such demands as attempts to politicize the trial and interfere into the work of the court, which is unacceptable.

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

Author: Faik Medzhid

Source: CK correspondent