Azerbaijani journalist Khadija Ismayilova jailed for criticizing authorities wins Anna Politkovskaya Award
Well-known journalist Khadija Ismayilova, who is jailed in Azerbaijan, won the Swedish National Press Club’s Freedom of Speech Award of Anna Politkovskaya for 2015. She was honored with the award for her brave journalistic investigations, Caucasian Knot writes.
According to the article, Bjorn Hager, the president of the Swedish National Press Club, said that Khadija Ismayilova had shown great courage in exposing corruption at the highest level in Azerbaijan. She had taken considerable risks for the truth to come forward, including reporting on Azerbaijan's governing elite’s business ties with Telia Sonera (Swedish Finish Telecommunication Company, one of the world leaders of mobile network services).
As the article has it, it is highlighted that Khadija Ismayilova is one of the most famous investigative journalists and has played a key role in the program Uppdrag Granskning of the Swedish TV, covering Telia Sonera’s business deals with the Azerbaijani authorities.
According to Bjorn Hager, the imprisonment of Ismayilova is a violation of press freedom and a ‘shameful attempt’ to discourage other journalists from revealing the regime's abuse of power.
The award ceremony took place in Stockholm on April 27 in the evening. There was no information as of to whom Ismayilova’s award would be handed. The journalists’ lawyers and family were not aware of that, Caucasian Knot writes.
On 5 December, 2014, the 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 on charges of incitement to suicide. 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 was conducting a talk show in the Azerbaijani Service of Radio Liberty.
The arrest of Ismayilova has been followed by a wave of condemning statements by a number of international organizations and influential representatives from various states. Protest actions have been organized in her support in various countries; and prominent international editions released articles covering the topic. Nonetheless, on 13 February, 2015 Prosecutor General's Office of Grave Crimes Investigation Department of Azerbaijan charged the journalist under articles 179.3.2 (large-scale appropriation), 192.2.2 (illegal entrepreneurship with large income) and 308.2 (abuse of power with grave consequences) under Criminal Code of Azerbaijan. She faces up to 12 years in prison.
In early April Azerbaijani journalist Tural Mustafayev – under whose complaint well-known Azerbaijani investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova had been arrested last December – wrote a letter to Zakir Garalov, the Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan, saying that he wanted to withdraw his appeal. In response to the question why he had lodged an accusation, Mustafa told the journalist that he was under emotional stress in that period.
Related:
‘‘Amnesty International’’: Azerbaijani journalist Khadija Ismayilova - Prisoner of Conscience
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