Khadija Ismayil "Keep fighting guys! If the arrest is the price for it, its ok, its worth it!"
Humarn Rights Watch (December 5 statement): Ismayilova is known for her extensive reporting on government corruption, including exposing the business interests of the ruling family. Her arrest on December 5 is the latest in a series of efforts by the authorities to silence her. Starting in February, police questioned Ismayilova several times as a witness in an investigation into the leaking of state secrets. The questioning started a few days after pro-government media outlets claimed she had handed files on Azerbaijani opposition politicians to United States Senate staff members who were allegedly working as US intelligence agents, a claim the US embassy denied.
Ismayilova is also facing a separate criminal defamation suit brought by a former political opposition member who claimed that Ismayilova posted a document online in which she revealed his name as an informant for government intelligence services. Ismayilova has denied the claim.
On October 12, customs officials prevented Ismayilova from leaving Azerbaijan to attend an international conference; the prosecutor’s office refused to explain the reasons for the travel ban. Earlier in October, Baku airport authorities detained Ismayilova for several hours as she was returning from Strasbourg, where she had met with Council of Europe officials to discuss the ongoing crackdown in Azerbaijan. The authorities searched her thoroughly and released her four hours later.
Ismayilova was the target of an orchestrated smear campaign in 2012, when a video appeared online containing intimate and illegally obtained images of her.
Ismayilova’s arrest is the latest move in the government’s systematic crackdown on independent voices. Over the last two-and-a-half years Azerbaijan has brought or threatened unfounded criminal charges against at least 50 independent and opposition political activists, journalists, bloggers, and human rights defenders. Most are behind bars.
“For months Azerbaijan’s international partners have expressed concern about the crackdown,” Gogia said. “But Ismayilova’s arrest should be the last straw. International partners need to make clear to Azerbaijan that there will be no more business as usual as long as critics remain behind bars.”
Interview with Khadija Ismayil at the Spring 2014 plenary session (April 9, 2014) describing the crackdown, the situation and the illegal businesses of government officials in Azerbaijan.
Attorney's license terminated
December 10, Azerbaijan’s bar association appealed to a court requesting the termination of attorney Khalid Baghirov’s activity. In an interview with Azadliq Radio, Baghirov said “I accepted the decision of the bar association as a prize for the work I have done. Surely this decision was made as a result of my recent work. The goal is to silence me.”
Baghirov was overlooking the cases of many of the political prisoners, including Arif Yunus, the husband of Leyla Yunus, Ilgar Mammadov, Yadigar Sadigli, some of the N!DA youth movement members and as of yesterday, Khadija Ismayil.
Baghirov thinks the decision didn’t come directly from the bar association but was enforced from a higher level.
Protest action in Georgia in support of Khadija Ismayilova
December 10, a group of supporters gathered in front of Azerbaijani Embassy in Tbilisi and the Official Representative of Azerbaijan in Batumi calling for immediate release of Khadija Ismayil as well as other jailed journalists.
