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“This move has all the hallmarks of another blatant attempt to gag free media in Azerbaijan – Khadija Ismayilova is one of the last remaining independent voices in the country,” said John Dalhuisen, Europe and Central Asia Programme Director at Amnesty International. His statement is published on the official site of the Amnesty International.

Today’s detention order comes hot on the heels of a long series of attempts to silence Ismayilova, notes Dalhuisen and calls on the Azerbaijan authorities to stop harassment of journalists just for doing their jobs.

In its turn Human Rights Watch reports that the arrest of Khadija Ismayilova is a devastating blow to critical voices in Azerbaijan.
Giorgi Gogia, senior South Caucasus researcher at Human Rights Watch noted that Khadija Ismayilova is an inconvenient messenger, and her arrest fits squarely among the Azerbaijani government’s concerted efforts to silence dissenting voices. She called on the authorities to release her immediately.

“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.”

International human rights organization Freedom House has also issued its statement on its site. It reads that Khadija Ismailova has long been a thorn in the side of the Azerbaijani government for her fearless reporting on the corruption.

“The politicized nature of the arrest is obvious,” reads the article published by Committee to Protect Journalists, CPJ on its official site.

“The arrest of Azerbaijani investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova today underscores the entrenched authoritarian instincts of the government of President Ilham Aliyev,” notes the statement of the Index on Censorship published on their site.

International agency Broadcasting Board of Governors expressed its indignation about the arrest of Ismayilova, and called on her immediate release. The statement is published on the official site of the agency.

OCCRP on its turn published a digest referring to the arrest of Ismayilova, where it is noted that the Azerbaijani government is persecuting her for reporting news relevant to the people of Azerbaijan.

Alike statements were published also by such organizations as Civil Rights Defenders and IWMF.

On December 5, morning, well-known Azerbaijani journalist Khadija Ismayilova was detained after being questioned at the prosecutor's office. Baku Sabail District Court made a decision to detain her for two months. She was charged with incitement to suicide. If the fault of the journalist is proven, then she can be punished by a term of 3 to 7 years in prison. Khadija Ismayilova has become the target of attacks of the government for her journalistic activities. Ismayilova is an author of a number of journalistic investigations of corruption in the highest echelons of power in Azerbaijan. In recent years, she is conducting a talk show in the Azerbaijani Service of “Radio Liberty”.