Standing Ovation for RFE/RL Azeri Journalist Ismayilova

Posted May 2nd, 2015 at 10:24 am (UTC+0)
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Courtesy, Khadija Ismayilova Prisoner of Conscience Facebook Administrators

Courtesy, Khadija Ismayilova Prisoner of Conscience Facebook Administrators

We have more news about Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reporter Khadija Ismayilova:

When the detained Azeri journalist entered a Baku courtroom Tuesday of this week, she received a standing ovation and loud applause from onlookers.

That prompted guards to place her into an all-glass, sound-proof box. When her lawyers asked the judge to release her from the box so that they could communicate with her, the guards refused.

That’s when her lawyers stepped into the box with her.

Ismayilova, a former VOA reporter and journalist with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty was attending a preliminary hearing at the Court of Appeals, looking for the court to reconsider their decision to fine her for libel, one of many charges pending against her.

Rights groups say the charges are an attempt to silence her.

The court rescheduled her hearing.

Ismayilova was convicted of libel and fined the equivalent of $ 2,400 on Feb. 23.

She has been jailed in Baku since December 2014.  As RePRESSed earlier reported, she recently won the prestigious 2015 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award.

Cecily Hilleary
Cecily began her reporting career in the 1990s, covering US Middle East policy for an English-language network in the UAE. She has lived and/or worked in the Middle East, North Africa and Gulf, consulting and producing for several regional radio and television networks and production houses, including MBC, Al-Arabiya, the former Emirates Media Incorporated and Al-Ikhbaria. She brings to VOA a keen understanding of global social, cultural and political issues.

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About rePRESSEDed

VOA reporter Cecily Hilleary monitors the state of free expression and free speech around the world.

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