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The French Foreign Ministry on its official website has issued a statement in which it expressed concern about the arrest of Azerbaijani investigative-journalist Khadija Ismayilova that took place on December 5th in Baku on charges of incitement to suicide.

The statement also notes that French President Francois Hollande had met her during his visit to Azerbaijan in May this year.

"France calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to maintain the commitments it undertook as a member of the OSCE and the Council of Europe, in particular to ensure respect for freedom of press, independence in judiciary, the right for defense and the presumption of innocence," the statement read.

The statement also notes that France will continue to closely monitor the situation around the case of Khadija Ismayilova.
On December 5, morning, well-known Azerbaijani journalist Khadija Ismayilova was detained after being questioned at the prosecutor's office. Baku Sabail District Court made a decision to detain her for two months. She was charged with incitement to suicide. If the fault of the journalist is proven, then she can be punished by a term of 3 to 7 years in prison. Khadija Ismayilova has become the target of attacks of the government for her journalistic activities. Ismayilova is an author of a number of journalistic investigations of corruption in the highest echelons of power in Azerbaijan. In recent years, she is conducting a talk show in the Azerbaijani Service of “Radio Liberty”.