Khadija Ismayilova defiant despite renewed term in prison
The decision to keep Khadija locked up came in a little less than a month ahead of the inaugural European Games
16.05.2015
It has been five months since investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova was arrested on charges of inciting a man to attempt suicide. And it looks like the government of Azerbaijan is determined to keep the journalist locked up for an indefinite time.
On May 14 (just ten days before Khadija’s current pre-trial detention period was coming to an end), the Nasimi District Court in Baku ruled to extend the pre-trial detention of the journalist by three months. Based on this new ruling Khadija will remain in detention until August 24.
The motion to allow Ismayilova spend the rest of her time under the house arrest was denied by the prosecutor. This is already the second time that a hasty decision is made to extend Ismayilova’s detention period. In March her time was extended until May. The news of yet another extension did not surprise anyone, not even Khadija’s mother Elmira, who has been patiently waiting for her daughter to return home.
The decision to keep Khadija locked up came in a little less than a month ahead of the inaugural European Games – a mega-sporting event that Azerbaijan is hosting this year between June 12 and 28. More than 6000 athletes from some fifty countries will come to Azerbaijan to compete in what is mostly an expensive training ground for qualifying for the Olympics.
Azerbaijani authorities spent over 8 billion USD on the preparations already and some estimate the total cost will reach 10 billion USD. The authorities as well as the organizing committee refute these numbers but also refuse to disclose any financial statements detailing the actual costs of the games.
But hiding expensive spending ventures is not new for the Azerbaijani authorities. Still it remains a mystery how much the cost of the Eurovision song contest the country hosted in 2012 really amounted to. Then there is the infamous Annual Flower Day, celebrated on May 10 in Azerbaijan since 2009 to commemorate the birthday of late Heydar Aliyev, the former communist boss and KGB general. Not once, have the local authorities disclosed the costs of flowers brought to Azerbaijan for just this day from all over the world.
Tightening the screws
Perhaps it is because of their fear of getting more negative exposure abroad, or perhaps it is the fear of losing grip over the country’s 9.4 million population that the authorities in Azerbaijan have stepped up their crackdown efforts. Keeping people like Khadija Ismayilova behind bars seems to be just part of a grand plan to continue clutching to power at whatever cost.
It is not surprising then, that for many years now, President Aliyev and his cabinet were unhappy with the work carried out by people like Ismayilova, exposing the social inequality while calling for more reforms and respect for the rule of law. Aliyev’s name inevitably kept popping up in all-investigative reports. Most of Azerbaijan’s present day troubles are the direct result of President Aliyev’s leadership. And Khadija’s investigative work attests to this. Shortly after she was blackmailed with a sex tape and a note warning her to “behave,” Khadija organized a press conference. During this meeting she clearly stated she had no intentions to stop her investigative work and that it wasn’t her fault that while doing her job all stories led to the ruling family (or often to their hidden bank accounts and off shore companies) and the tightly knit circle of friends around them.
In return, President Aliyev unable to cover his traces (and perhaps not even willing to do so) launched an all offensive against his critics. Khadija was just another target among many who were unjustly arrested and later sentenced.
The nature of the original charge that served as a pretext in getting Ismayilova behind bars was just a façade of what was going to come. Two months after her original detention, on Khadija Ismayilova was charged with embezzlement, tax evasion, illegal entrepreneurship and abuse of authority. She is facing up to 12 years in jail if convicted. Just 10 days after being charged, on February 23, the court in Baku found Khadija guilty of a criminal defamation suit she was facing from the previous year [October 2014]. The court fined Ismayilova in the amount of 2500 AZN. Khadija already appeared at the court of appeal in this case but in yet another unexpected move, on May 12, the court adjourned the appeal case against the libel conviction indefinitely thus making it impossible to proceed any further with this case.
On May 1, a new development raised further eyebrows over the legitimacy of Khadija’s arrest and the charges against her. Tural Mustafayev, the man who originally complained that Ismayilova incited him to attempt suicide released a video message where he confessed he was forced to write the statement against Khadija under torture and threats. Mustafayev had already withdrawn his complaint by saying he was “under emotional stress” when lodging his accusation. But despite his request to withdraw his complaint and his video confession, Khadija is still facing the charges brought by Mustafayev.
Just how bogus the whole case is is visible also in the recent comments of Zahid Oruc, member of the Security and Defense Committee at the National Assembly of Azerbaijan. “I am questioning the legitimacy of Tural Mustafayev’s video and what he says about the pressure and torture. Even media wrote the man was psychologically unstable.”
So Mustafayev was deemed sane when he wrote the letter originally, but after withdrawing his complaint and disclosing information about his ill-treatment by the government security forces, he no longer was considered sane?! Zahid Oruc had something to say about this, too. “While Mustafayev says he was pressured to write that letter, what are the guarantees he was not pressured to film this video message as well? Khadija Ismayil is an individual who criticized the government sharply for over a decade. For ten years the government didn’t undertake any operation against her. This is an individual case and the court will decide”, said Oruc in his comments to Azadliq Radiosu on May 4.
Zahir Oruc’s response raises more questions. Does he mean the government tolerated Ismayilova’s criticism for far too long [ten years] and that it finally decided it was enough and issued her arrest? Has the time to finally punish Khadija arrived?
Oruc’s comment explains arrests of other critics such as journalist Seymur Hezi and Parviz Hashimli, rights activists Rasul Jafarov, Leyla Yunus and NIDA members, rights defender Intigam Aliyev and many others. Aliyev tolerated criticism for far too long, now the time has come to silence his critics indefinitely.
Letters from prison
In her most recent letters from prison, Khadija wrote about the upcoming European Games and questioned their necessity. In a letter titled “The Game of Being European” Khadija offered a list of suggestions that would make Azerbaijan European at much lesser costs than putting on a show like the games. “Just like all other European heads of state, Aliyev too should sign income statements and make them available to public. Other state officials should follow suit. This would keep them from stealing from people and keep their income transparent”, she wrote as one of her suggestions. “Just like it is in all other European states, we too should not have political prisoners” was another suggestion. “None of these require millions. And perhaps if the true intentions behind hosting these games is development of our land, perhaps we put aside love for our pockets and government positions and really give our land a thought,” wrote Khadija.
Once her letters were published, Ismayilova was reprimanded. If she kept writing such letters, her right to phone calls and visits with her family would be taken away! All this, while the reason she escaped the walls of yet another solitary confinement was because of the approaching European Games.
In the meantime, Khadija keeps winning awards for her outstanding courage. On May 5, she received the prestigious Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award handed out by the PEN American. Suzanne Nossel, the Executive Director at PEN American said, “Khadija Ismayilova knows no fear. Again and again she has unearthed and exposed stories that have cast a harsh light on widespread corruption and self-dealing at the highest levels of the Azerbaijani government.” The award was accepted by her colleagues who chanted “Kha-di-ja” before a room packed with distinguished guests, speakers and journalists from around the world.
Miles across from New York, in their cells Azerbaijan’s prominent men and women remain in Aliyev’s authoritarian shadow. Despite their awards and achievements, Aliyev and his government have little respect for these critics. As the world continues to recognize them, Aliyev tries hard to forget them. Will he succeed? So far, despite the attention and the growing criticism, Aliyev is winning with fewer remaining independent voices left to continue the battle for democracy.