The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled the Azerbaijani government should compensate investigative journalist Khadija Ismayil in the amount of 25,000 euros for violation of her rights.
According to the ECHR's decision, Ismayil's rights such as the right to a fair trial, liberty and freedom of expression, which are protected by the European Convention, have been infringed upon, according to lawyer Khalid Aghaliyev.
Aghaliyev said that the complaint to the ECHR was about the violation of the journalist's right to the presumption of innocence and a fair trial.
“Therefore, the lawyers wanted the ECHR to recognize a violation of Articles 5 and 18. The ECHR examined the case and decided that there had been a violation of the mentioned articles,” Aghaliyev said.
Aghaliyev said that the journalist should be paid a total of 25,000 euros for these violations.
The authorities have not yet commented on the decision.
Ismayilova was arrested in December 2014 on bogus charges of tax evasion and embezzlement, a fact that had been harshly criticized by human rights defenders. After a year and a half behind bars, she was released in 2016 on probation. Ismayilova does not accept the accusations, saying she was arrested because of her journalistic investigations that revealed the high-level corruption around the ruling family.
