EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT Member ofthe European Parliament President Ilham Aliyev Of?ce of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Istiqlaliyyat Street 19 1066 Baku Azerbaijan Minister ikrat Mammadov Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Azerbaijan Inshaatchilar prospekti 1 1073 Baku Azerbaijan Strasbourg, 17 December 2014 Subject: Call for an immediate release of the investigative journalist Ms Khadija Ismayilova, recently imprisoned by the Azerbaijani authorities. Your Excellencies, Last Friday, 5 December 2014, Ms Khadija Ismayilova, a Radio Free Europe/Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) journalist was taken into pre-trial detention, under section 125 of your country?s penal code. If convicted, she will face a prison sentence between three and seven years. As reported by the international media, the charges came one day after the release of a sixty-page statement by Mr Aliyev?s chief of staff, which heavily criticized Ms Ismayilova?s activities. All international media sources agree in describing the arrest as politically motivated by her investigations into the Azerbaijani ruling elite and by her engagement as a human rights defender. Despite strong criticism from the international community and protests which took place in Europe and in the US, Ms Ismayilova has remained in pre-trial detention. EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT Member of the European Parliament As a member of the OSCE and the Council of Eur0pe, Azerbaijan needs to stand fully by its international commitments, and therefore we urge for: the immediate release of Ms Khadija Ismayilova and any other journalist facing unfair detention; a fair trial and the full respect of adequate procedural guarantees and fundamental rights for suspected and accused persons; 0 the lift of her travel ban; 0 the end of the intimidation campaign targeted against Ms Ismayilova as an investigative reporter in the last years; 0 a stronger recognition of the freedom of press in Azerbaijan, whereas investigative journalism is necessary in a democratic society. Yours sincerely, Monica MACOVEI Dennis DE ONG Miroslav POCHE .fc, Tomas ZDECHOVSKY GerbenJ an GERBRANDY Petras AUSTREVICIUS . Helga STEVENS WW Claude ROLIN EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT Member of the European Parliament r, Jana ZITNANSKA .. Molly SCOTT CATO 5 If Traian UNGUREANU Ana GOMES Therese COMODINI CACHIA Klaus BUCHNER Sandra KALNIETE Michaela SOJDROVA Josef WEIDENHOLZER Salvatore Domenico POGLIESE Keith TAYLOR CL A Csaba SOGOR EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT Member of the European Parliament Roberts Mark DEMESMAE Isabella ADINOLFI Marco AFFRONTE Laura AGEA WEE Tiziana BEGHIN David BORRELLI (92a Fab1o Mass1mo CASTALDO /Mwm/ Ignazio CORRAO i Rosa Eleonora EVI C: Laura FERRARA Giulia MOI EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT Member ofthe European Parliament Piemicola PEDICIN I Dario TAMBURRANO 0 1?6 Marco VALLI Marco ZANNI Marco ZULLO MW