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Nasimi District Court of Baku has decided to extend preventive measures in the form of arrest, applied against arrested journalist Khadija Ismayilova, till 24 May, information agency APA reports.

Earlier, with the 5 December decision of Sabail district court of Baku the preventative measure in the form of arrest for 2 months had been applied against Ismayilova. On 27 January her term of detention was extended for 2 months.

Ismayilova was arrested under Article 125 (inciting to suicide) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan. Later new charges were brought against her under articles 179.3.2 (embezzlement), 192.2.2 (illegal entrepreneurship), 213.1 (tax evasion) and 308.2 (abuse of power) of Criminal Code of Azerbaijan.

According to information agency Turan, the investigation explains holding Ismayilova in detention with the alleged possibility that she may press on the witnesses and hide from the investigation. The extension of the investigation is also justified by the necessity of getting further expert opinions.

Ismayilova called the charges absurd and denied them. She also noted that being the head of the Baku bureau of RFR/RL she had no authority to employ and decide financial problems. She was only a coordinator between the Baku bureau and Prague office. Regarding the charges of inciting to suicide Ismayilova demanded Tural Mustafayev’s appearance in court, whom she allegedly incited to suicide. At that moment the judge interrupted Ismayilova and suggested her to talk up to the essence of the charge.

Meanwhile the organization Reporters Without Borders, on the occasion of the International Women’s Day March 8th, reminds the names of 10 women journalists who are under arrest in different parts of the world. The article titled “Women Journalists Commitment and Challenges” presents the names and photos of the journalists from Azerbaijan, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, Serbia, Burma, Congo, Liberia, Morocco and Mexico.

According to the article, the name of Khadija Ismayilova is mentioned in the list as Azerbaijani representative. She is under arrest because she wrote about corruption at government level. To shut her up, the authorities placed a video camera in her apartment in 2012. The journalist was not afraid of the blackmail and published the materials she had obtained. That became the reason why she was arrested later. However, the authorities were not able to silence her even in the jail. In detention, Ismayilova went on blaming the authorities.

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.

The arrest of Ismayilova has been followed by a wave of condemning statements by a number of international organizations and influential representatives from various states. Protest actions have been organized in her support in various countries; and prominent international editions released articles covering the topic.