Council of Europe and OSCE demand to release Ismayilova

The sentence imposed on Khadija Ismayilova is politically motivated and aimed at intimidating activists and independent journalists in Azerbaijan, declare the statements of the officials of the Council of Europe, the OSCE and international human rights organizations.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that today the Baku Court of Grave Crimes has sentenced Khadija Ismayilova, a reporter of the "Radio Liberty" in Azerbaijan, to 7.5 years of imprisonment.

Thorbjorn Jagland, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, has condemned the verdict to Ismayilova, says the statement of the press secretary Daniel Oltgen that has arrived in the "Caucasian Knot". The Secretary General demanded from the Azerbaijani authorities to provide detailed evidence of the journalist's guilt.

Nils Muiznieks, the Commissioner of the Council of Europe for Human Rights, and Dunja Mijatovic, the Special Representative of the OSCE on the Freedom of Mass Media, have noted in their joint statement that the charges against Ismayilova and her trial were unfair.

The international organization to protect journalists – the "Reporters Without Borders" (RWB) – has stated that it was "shocked by the verdict to Ismayilova." The RWB called for the immediate release of Ismayilova and 11 other Azerbaijani journalists and bloggers.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), based in New York, has treated the trial of Ismayilova and the verdict handed down to her as "a mockery of justice." The CPJ's statement calls to cancel the sentence to the journalist and release her from custody.

The international human rights organization the "Human Rights Watch" (HRW) has called, in the Council of Europe, to apply sanctions against Azerbaijan.

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