Azerbaijan has sentenced Khadija Ismayilova, an award-winning investigative journalist and anti-corruption campaigner, to seven-and-a-half years in jail over several fraud charges which she denounced as politically motivated.
The court in Baku on Tuesday sentenced Ismayilova to prison for a string of convictions, including, embezzlement, tax evasion, illegal business activity, and abuse of power, but found her not guilty of inciting a colleague to commit suicide.
Ismayilova’s lawyer Fariz Namazly called the verdict “illegal” and vowed to appeal against it.
Considered Azerbaijan’s most prominent critical journalist, Ismayilova served as bureau chief for the local service of the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty network between 2008 and 2010, and then became the host of a daily debate show on the network.
Held in pre-trial detention since December, Ismayilova, 39, had denounced the charges against her as trumped up, and an attempt to stop her filing reports critical of senior officials, including President Ilham Aliyev.
The journalist has investigated and reported on the alleged vast riches amassed by Aliyev and his family.
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