The ECHR ruled that the case against Khadija Ismayilova constituted persecution for her journalistic activities.

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the criminal prosecution of prominent Azerbaijani journalist Khadija Ismayilova in 2014-2015 was unlawful and ordered her to pay 16,000 euros in compensation.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," Ismayilova gained widespread notoriety for her journalistic investigations into corruption in Azerbaijan. In September 2015, she was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison on charges of economic crimes. In May 2016, the Supreme Court commuted her prison sentence to 3.5 years probation, with a probationary period of five years. Ismayilova herself has denied guilt.

On January 27, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg announced its decision on Khadija Ismayilova's complaint regarding her criminal prosecution in 2014-2015. As a result of this criminal prosecution, the journalist was found guilty of tax evasion and illegal entrepreneurship, namely, "carrying out journalistic activities for foreign media without accreditation."

The ECHR ruling stated that the basis for Ismayilova's detention was a charge of "inciting a colleague to commit suicide," which was subsequently dropped due to the dismissal of the complaint against the journalist. In 2020, the ECHR had already found a violation of her rights in this regard.

In early 2015, Ismayilova was charged with new economic crimes and sentenced to prison for "illegal entrepreneurship" and "tax evasion."

"Ismayilova's" journalistic activities at the Baku office of Radio Azadliq without accreditation were described as "illegal entrepreneurship." As Ismayilova pointed out in her complaint at the time, "accreditation was not a legal requirement for journalists in Azerbaijan, including those working with foreign media." She considered this charge a violation of Article 7 (Punishment only in accordance with the law) of the European Convention on Human Rights, which states that "no one shall be held guilty of any criminal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a criminal offence under national or international law at the time when it was committed."

The ECHR concluded that "accreditation requirements are formal conditions governing access to journalistic activity," and that criminal prosecution for failure to comply with these requirements "constitutes an interference with freedom of expression." The court found that Ismayilova's criminal prosecution was not based on sufficient evidence and was related to her professional journalistic activities.

The Strasbourg court ruled that, in addition to Articles 7 (Punishment only in accordance with the law) and 10 (Freedom of expression), Article 6 (Right to a fair trial) and Article 18 (Limitation on the use of restrictions on rights) of the European Convention were also violated in relation to Ismayilova.

The ECHR ordered the Azerbaijani government to pay Ismayilova compensation in the amount of 12,000 euros for moral damage and four thousand euros in legal costs.

In Ismayilova's case, the ECHR for the first time recognized a violation of the rights under Article 7 of the applicant from Azerbaijan, said lawyer Fariz Namazli, who represented Ismayilova at the ECHR, to a correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot".

According to the lawyer, the decision of the Strasbourg court, and especially The recognition of a violation of her rights under Articles 18 and 10 confirms that the case against the journalist was not based on law and reflected the authorities' intent to silence her by punishing Ismayilova for her professional activities.

Azerbaijan's Plenipotentiary Representative to the ECHR, Chingiz Asgarov, was unavailable for comment.

The ECHR has previously issued several decisions in Ismayilova's favor. For example, in October 2025, the Strasbourg court found a violation of Ismayilova's rights in a defamation case against her. The Azerbaijani government was ordered to pay her €5,100 in compensation. In May 2020, the ECHR upheld Ismayilova's complaint against the Azerbaijani government, finding a violation of her rights under Articles 6 (right to a fair trial) and 8 (right to respect for private and family life) of the European Convention. The ECHR awarded Ismayilova €4,500 in compensation for non-pecuniary damage and an additional €1,500 for legal costs. In January 2019, the ECHR also upheld Ismayilova's complaint against the Azerbaijani government regarding interference in her privacy. The ECHR found violations of the journalist's rights to respect for her private life and freedom of expression and awarded her €16,750 in compensation. Caucasian Knot also reported that on March 14, Toplum TV editor-in-chief Khadija Ismayilova, citing the Constitution of Azerbaijan, refused to testify to police in a smuggling case against her colleagues. After a three-hour detention at Baku Police Headquarters, she was released. She is banned from leaving the country.