AEJ condemns unjust verdict against Khadiya Ismayilova in ‘fabricated’ case
Thursday, September 3, 2015
The AEJ, Article 19, the European Federation of
Journalists, International Federation of Journalists and Reporters
Without Borders have together denounced the verdict and prison sentence
against Khadiya Ismayilova as based on fabricated evidence and legally
unsound. We call for the verdict to be reversed, for the case against
Ismayilova to be dismissed, and for her immediate and unconditional
release.
On 1 September 2015, a Baku court sentenced Khadija Ismayilova
to 7 and a half years in prison on charges of misappropriation and
embezzlement, illegal business dealings, tax evasion and abuse of power.
In her closing statement, Ms Ismayilova denounced the case against her
as politically motivated with the aim of ending her investigations into
corruption at the highest levels of government.
Leading European authorities including the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights and the OSCE’s Representative on Media Freedom have condemned the verdict as unjust. The Council of Europe’s Secretary-General, Thorbjorn Jagland, has criticised ‘systemic deficiencies’ in the Azerbaijan judicial system and the growing number of prosecution s of human rights defenders and journalists.
Read more details on the Council of Europe’s Platform for the protection of journalism and safety of journalists.
about the Alerts on the Ismayilova case, the official response of the Azerbaijan government, and the latest international protests against the Baku court’s verdict.
The
Platform (website) was launched in April 2015 and has so far recorded
75 Alerts about physical attacks and harassment against journalists,
judicial impunity, threats to journalistic sources, and acts having a
chilling effect on media freedom. Alerts delivered to the Platform by
AEJ, Article 19, EFJ, IFJ and Reporters Without Borders are communicated
to the Council of Europe member state concerned, and responses by the
member states can also be viewed online.
The Platform is designed to enable the Council of Europe to The platform will enable the Council of Europe to highlight serious concerns about media freedom and journalists’ rights, react more effectively to these threats and to strengthen the dialogue with member states about remedies and protective measures.