Journalist Khadija Ismayilova banished from premiere performance in Baku

Azerbaijani journalist Khadija Ismayilova reported she had to leave the Baku theatre building after the threats to cancel the performance if she stayed among spectators.

According to Khadija Ismayilova, she was invited to the premiere of the performance "Of Mice and Men" based on the story of American writer John Steinbeck. The premiere performance was scheduled for December 19. The performance has been staged by the theatre "Esa", famous for the fact that most of its actors are people with disabilities. The US Embassy in Azerbaijan became one of the sponsors of the performance.

Khadija Ismayilova reported she got a note at the entrance to the building of the State Opera and Ballet Theatre. The note warned the journalist that the performance would be cancelled if she was among the spectators, the "JAMnews" reports.

As a result, Khadija Ismayilova decided to leave the theatre building in order not to disrupt the premiere performance. Robert Cekuta, US Ambassador to Azerbaijan, "phoned the journalist and said he was very disappointed with the incident," the "JAMnews" reports.

According to Khadija Ismayilova, the instruction to prevent her from visiting the premiere performance came from an assistant to Mekhriban Alieva, First Vice-President of Azerbaijan and the wife of the Azerbaijani President. The assistant to Mekhriban Alieva was among the spectators, and, according to Khadija Ismayilova, he saw her when she approached the theatre building.

Later, it became clear that Leyla Alieva, the senior daughter of Azerbaijani President, was also invited to the premiere of the performance, Khadija Ismayilova noted. "It turns out that yesterday, I was blocked from entering the theatre building, since President's daughter Leyla Alieva planned to come to the premiere performance," Khadija Ismayilova has written on her Facebook page today.

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