Khadija Ismayilova demands explanations from Azerbaijani SC on her conditional sentence

Khadija Ismayilova has not received the court decision, and she asks for clarification concerning the obligations of conditional sentenced imposed on her. Besides, the journalist also asks for explanations in connection with her trial period, which is longer than the period of the very conditional sentence.

Khadija Ismayilova has become known for her investigations of corruption in the higher echelons of Azerbaijani state. In 2014, she was detained on charges of incitement to a suicide attempt of her colleague Tural Mustafaev. Later, she faced a number of economic charges. Ismayilova refused to plead guilty. On September 1, 2015, a court in Baku sentenced her to 7.5 years of imprisonment.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on May 25, 2016, the Supreme Court (SC) of Azerbaijan replaced the real term of imprisonment with 3.5 years of conditional sentence with a trial period of five years. In the evening of May 25, the journalist was released.

On June 6, Khadija Ismayilova addressed electronic requests to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and to Ali Seifaliev, Judge of the Azerbaijani SC, in connection with the verdict pronounced against her on May 25.

In particular, Khadija Ismayilova asks the Azerbaijani MoJ to provide her with the information concerning if there have been cases in the court practice of Azerbaijan when the trial period exceeded the term of conditional sentence.

Advocate Yalchin Imanov has noted that Khadija Ismayilova is sentenced to the maximum trial period, stipulated by the Azerbaijani laws. The advocate believes that the court decision may be motivated by the idea to limit the freedom of Khadija Ismayilova as long as possible.

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