Khadija Ismailova, released on the the 25th of May, has stated that she will continue her journalistic investigations no matter what. She also added that she will not remain indifferent to the fate of other political prisoners, and will do all in her power to see to their release.
“Prison isn’t that bad.”
In a discussion with her colleagues immediately after her release, Ismailova claimed:
“Being imprisoned is an interesting experience. It’s really not that scary. One must not be afraid of prison, and in the process abandon the struggle for justice. Prison is just an experience, that’s all.
I will continue my work from where I left off. I started learning Spanish while in prison, which I hope to use in my examination of the Panama Papers.
Ismailova is a member of the
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
(ICIJ) that is currently conducting an investigation of offshore companies named in the Panama Papers, including the ruling elite of Azerbaijan.
“The authorities thought that my arrest would shut everyone up.”
.
“The authorities thought that my arrest would shut everyone up. I’d like to thank and express my admiration for my colleagues who did not abandon their posts and who, on the contrary, have redoubled their efforts. After my arrest, many more investigative reports appeared, and more companies that were hidden offshore were uncovered.” said Isamailova.
She urged the international community to defend human rights more actively.
“The fight for human rights must be open and transparent. We should not talk about it behind closed doors. The fact that the authorities are avoiding open discussion disappoints me.” she said.
“I would like this fight to continue”
Khadija further expressed her admiration of international human rights organizations for their continuous and relentless fight for the release of political prisoners in Azerbaijan.
“I would like this fight to continue. We still have a lot of political prisoners that are not that famous. They are the ones who are tortured. We have to work hand in hand and draw the international community’s attention to these people”- continued Isamailova.
Commenting on her conditional release, Khadija said that she does not agree with the decision of the Supreme Court.
“I will fight until the complete restoration of justice will be accomplished, and I will appeal to the European Court of Human Rights”, said Ismailova.
Background
Khadija Ismailova was arrested in December 2014 and sentenced to 7.5 years of imprisonment on charges of economic fraud. However, in the opinion of Ismailova and both local and international democratic communities, she was persecuted for her journalistic investigations into the business affairs of Azerbaijan’s ruling family — the Aliyevs.
On May 25th, 2016, the Supreme Court corrected her sentence to parole.
