Federal Foreign Office on the release of the Azerbaijani journalist Khadija Ismayilova

A Federal Foreign Office spokesperson issued the following statement on 25 May concerning the release of the Azerbaijani journalist Khadija Ismayilova:

Zusatzinformationen

Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier welcomes the suspension of the prison sentence handed down to the journalist Khadija Ismayilova. Her release is a good decision and hopefully a sign that freedom of expression and freedom of the press are improving in Azerbaijan.

Background information:

Khadija Ismayilova works as a journalist at Radio Free Europe and is also a blogger. She was arrested on 5 December 2014 on suspicion of incitement to commit suicide. The investigation was later extended to include economic and tax crimes. On 1 September 2015, Khadija Ismayilova was sentenced to seven and half years in prison for tax evasion, illegal business activities, abuse of power and embezzlement. On 25 May 2016, the Supreme Court ruled her sentence would be reduced to a three-and-a-half-year suspended term.

Khadija Ismayilova is regarded as one of the best known remaining representatives of a critical Azerbaijani civil society. In 2012, she was awarded the Gerd Bucerius Prize Free Press of Eastern Europe. Khadija Ismayilova met Foreign Minister Steinmeier during his trip to Azerbaijan on 22 and 23 October 2014.

from
http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/EN/Infoservice/Presse/Meldungen/2016/160525_Aserbaidschan.html?nn=479796