Khadija Ismayilova: I Will Continue My Investigative Journalism

Freed from prison yesterday, Khadija Ismayilova said she would continue her investigation. At the same time, she will not remain indifferent to the fate of other political prisoners, and will do anything for their release.

In a conversation with colleagues in front of her home immediately after the liberation Ismayilova said: "The prison is an interesting experience and it's not so scary. Do not be afraid of prison and do not abandon the struggle for the things you think are right. Prison is experience...

I will continue to work from the point where I left it off. Now I have more abilities. In prison, I began to learn Spanish. This will help me read the documents of offshore companies in the original language." (Ismayilova is a member of the International Consortium for Investigative Journalism (ICIJ) investigating the archives of the Panamanian offshore companies, including the business of the ruling elite of Azerbaijan).

According to the journalist, the authorities' account of the fact that after her arrest the criticism will decrease was not justified.

"The government thought that, by arresting me, they would plug all mouths, but thanks to colleagues that they have not left the job and, on the contrary, only intensified it after my arrest, making more investigations and revealing more and more companies hidden in the offshore," said Ismayilova.

She called on the international community to actively defend human rights.

"The struggle for human rights must be open and transparent and should not be spoken about behind closed doors. It is disappointing that the presidents avoid talking about it openly," she said.

However, Khadija expressed appreciation to international human rights organizations for their consistent struggle for the liberation of political prisoners in Azerbaijan.

"I would like to see this fight goes on and on. We still have a lot of political prisoners, including not very well known ones. There are those who are tortured. We need to work together and draw the attention of the international community to these people, too," continued Ismayilova.

Commenting on the decision on her conditional release, Khadija said she did not agree with the verdict of the Supreme Court. "I will fight until the full restoration of justice, and will appeal to the European Court of Human Rights," said Ismayilova.

* Khadija Ismayilova was arrested in December 2014 and subsequently sentenced to 7.5 years of imprisonment on charges of economic crimes. However, both Ismayilova and the international democratic community believe she was pursued in connection with her investigative journalism of the Azerbaijani ruling family’s business.

On May 25, 2016, the Supreme Court changed her prison sentence to probation.   -06D--