PEN Center awards arrested Azerbaijani journalist Khadija Ismayilova
Khadija Ismayilova, famous for her journalistic investigations of the corruption in the upper echelons of power in Azerbaijan, won Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award annually granted by the PEN American literary Center, Russian service of BBC reports.
"Khadija Ismayilova is the leading investigative reporter in Azerbaijan, and she has tackled corruption at the highest levels of the Azerbaijani government," said Suzanne Nossel, executive director of the PEN center, during the awarding ceremony in New York.
Ismayilova was not able to receive the award personally for she is in detention in Azerbaijan. RFE/RL says the award conferred on the embattled Ismayilova is designed to recognize "an imprisoned writer of conscience in particularly dire circumstances." Emin Milli, an Azerbaijani writer who himself was jailed in 2009 for his critical views of the government, accepted the award on her behalf, urging journalists and activists to "spread the word about her courage and struggle for freedom all over the world."
“Her imprisonment is a violation of a very central human rights principle. It's a call to action. She is a critical voice. She brings awareness," said Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini in a video about the journalist presented at the gala.
Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani journalist Tural Mustafayev was interrogated in the Department of grave crimes of the Prosecutor’s Office of Azerbaijan. He was called after his May 1 video message. There he confessed that he had sued Khadija Ismayilova under pressure and blackmail. Mustafayev reported about the pressure of the investigation, and about his intention to ask for asylum in the EU and the US with the request to ensure his safety at least till the trial, Turan information agency reports.
Mustafayev claims “mild” pressure was imposed on him during the May 5 interrogation. Meanwhile, the investigator Sanan Pashayev made him sign a paper about not revealing the secrecy of the interrogation. According to the article, the prosecution considers Mustafayev’s video message as a violation of the secrecy of the investigation, and his words groundless. In particular, the investigator wondered how Mustafayev knows that the investigation has no proof of Ismayilova’s guilt. Mustafayev again said that he withdraws his complaint against Ismayilova, but they told him in response that “he might still change his mind till the trial.” According to Caucasian Knot, with the given article, the journalist faces either a punishment of 500–1000 manats ($525-1050) penalty or penal labor for up to 2 years, or up to 6 months’ imprisonment.
When Mustafayev asked what was the reaction to his appeal to the Prosecutor’s Office, he was told that the investigation was about to end and he could present his position in the court. Mustafayev’s public statement provides the ground for the charges against Ismayilova to be dropped, Ismayilova’s Azerbaijani lawyer Yalchin Imanov finds.
The mediator in the lawsuit against the well-known RFE/RL journalist, Tural Mustafayev, had posted a sensational video statement on Facebook saying his complaint against the journalist was the result of the blackmail of the Ministry of National Security of Azerbaijan and Prosecution employees. On May 5 Mustafayev told Turan that psychological and physical pressure was still being imposed on him so that he did not give up his complaint against Khadija Ismayilova.
Related:
Khadija Ismayilova, journalist of Radio Liberty, arrested in Azerbaijan
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