26 November 2015, 00:14
Advocates of Khadija Ismayilova announce their willingness to appeal to ECtHR
Advocates of Khadija Ismayilova have expressed their disagreement with the decision of the Court of Appeal, which dismissed the appeal against the verdict of guilty.
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.
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. On November 25, the Baku Court of Appeal (BCA) dismissed the complaint of Khadija Ismayilova and upheld the verdict of guilty.
Advocate Fariz Namazly has pointed to the inconsistence of the consideration of the appeal without holding a trial. He has recalled that at the trial at the court of first instance, the defence filed more than 30 motions and none of them was granted.
"This is a burlesque trial. The BCA has ignored the obvious violations committed by the court of first instance. The judge even did not allow the defendant to speak in full and constantly interrupted her. We will file an appeal to the Supreme Court. After the national means of appeal are exhausted, we will appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)," stated advocate Fakhraddin Mekhtiev in his interview to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.
Author: Faik Medzhid Source: CK correspondent
