The Court of Appeal again denied Khadija Ismaylova the right to leave the country

Baku/30.01.18/Turan: The Baku Court of Appeal considered the complaint of investigative journalist Khadija Ismaylova about the ban on her departure from the country. The ban is motivated by the serving of Ismayilova suspended sentence. She appealed to the court three times with a request to at least temporarily lift the ban. The journalist believes that the Binagadi district court, having refused her for the last time, caused her also material damage.

She was invited by the Stockholm School of Economics to teach a one-month course and for this she was entitled to a fee of 12000 euros.

During the trial, she also presented an invitation to the ceremony of awarding her "A True Lifestyle" award, but the court did not take into account this either. "These court decisions also violate my presumption of innocence. They write that there is a possibility that I will not return. But there is no justification for this," Ismayilova said.

However, the judges under the chairmanship of Amir Bayramov rejected her request and upheld the decision of the Binagadi court on October 17, 2017. Now the journalist will appeal to the Supreme Court. Ismayilova is trying to cancel the ban on leaving the country through the fourth round. The ECHR has already started communication on Ismailova's complaint of refusal to leave the country.

The government was to answer the ECHR's questions in mid-January, but asked for more time.

Ismayilova was arrested in December 2015 and subsequently sentenced to 7.5 years imprisonment.

On May 25, 2016, the Supreme Court softened the sentences to 3.5 years' imprisonment on probation with a five-year probationary period. Ismayilova is known for her high-profile journalistic investigations of corruption in the highest echelons of power in Azerbaijan. -06B--