SC upholds ban on Ismayilova to leave Azerbaijan

The cassation instance has dismissed the complaint lodged by journalist Khadija Ismayilova against the court's ruling, which forbade her to leave Azerbaijan.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on June 28, the Binagadi District Court did not allow the journalist Khadija Ismayilova, who is serving her conditional sentence, to temporarily leave Azerbaijan for participating in the events on invitations of the PACE, the OSCE and the US Congress, as well as to accompany her mother to the medical examination. On August 15, the Baku Court of Appeal (CoA) upheld the ban. The journalist then announced her intention to send an appeal to the country's SC.

Ms Ismayilova believes that the restriction of her rights is illegal and intends to apply to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on the unlawful restriction of her freedom of travel.

The journalist believes that the real aim of the ban on her leaving the country is not to allow her "to take part in international events and tell the truth about corruption and human rights violations."

The laws of Azerbaijan provide for the right of a convict, serving his/her conditional sentence, to temporarily leave the country, said Fariz Namazly, one of her advocates.

He reminded that in 2014, Ismayilova, despite the threat of arrest, returned from abroad to Azerbaijan.

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