Court of Appeal Upholds Ban on Khadija Ismayilova's Departure Abroad

Baku / 09.10.17 / Turan: The Baku Appeals Court examined the complaint of the investigative journalist Khadija Ismaylova on October 9. The complaint was related to the restriction of her right to leave the country.

Earlier, she asked the Binagadi district court to lift the ban on her departure from Azerbaijan with a view to participating in international events related to professional activities. On August 10, the Binagadi District Court rejected the appeal of the journalist. This decision was appealed.

Today, the judicial staff of the Baku Appeals Court chaired by Namig Mammadov dismissed the complaint.

On October 10, the Binagadi court will consider the appeal of Ismayilova to remove the ban on her traveling abroad in connection with an invitation to conduct courses on investigative journalism in the Riga branch of the Stockholm School of Economics.

Ismayilova was arrested in December 2014. In September 2015, the court sentenced the journalist to 7.5 years imprisonment on economic charges. Ismayilova did not admit the blame. International organizations recognized her as a political prisoner. In May 2016, the Supreme Court replaced the real prison term by 3.5 years of conditional imprisonment with a probation period of five years. After that, she repeatedly appealed to the courts for temporary departure from the country in connection with her professional activities, but she received refusals. -03B06--