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High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, and Commissioner on European Neighborhood Policy & Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, called on Azerbaijan authorities to review the sentenced journalist Khadija Ismailova’s case in full respect of the country's international commitments, including on media freedom. “The trial raised fundamental questions on the impartiality of the court and the legality of the accusation,” they said in a joint statement.

The United States said it is deeply troubled by the decision of an Azerbaijani court to sentence prominent investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova to seven and a half years in prison. “We are further concerned by reports of irregularities during the investigation and trial, including the apparent exclusion of witness testimony and other key evidence,” the Department of State said  and added that this case is another example in a broad pattern of increasing restrictions on human rights in Azerbaijan, including curtailing the freedom of the press. The U.S. urged the government of Azerbaijan to release Ms. Ismayilova and others incarcerated in connection with exercising their fundamental freedoms. “We also call on the Government of Azerbaijan to adhere to its international obligations to protect and promote human rights and fundamental freedoms of all its citizens.”

The Department of State also compiled a list  of 20 women from around the world for the release of which it is going to fight. The Azerbaijani journalist Khadija Ismayilova and rights defender Leyla Yunus were included in the list. “We have not forgotten about you, and we will continue to highlight other cases of concern going forward,” the U.S. Ambassador at the UN, Samantha Power, said during a Department of State press briefing.

The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Chair, Isabel Santos, called for Ismayilova’s immediate release. “It is clear to me that this is a politically motivated response to Ms. Ismayilova’s work to hold her country’s leaders accountable. With every journalist, human rights defender and civil society leader it harasses or jails, Azerbaijan distances itself further and further from democratic values and OSCE human dimension commitments,” Santos said in a statement .

In response to the verdict rendered against journalist Khadija Ismayilova in Baku, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, and U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, Co-Chairman of the Commission, issued the following statement.

 “We are deeply troubled by today’s guilty verdict and sentencing of Ms. Ismayilova. She is being robbed of her freedom for exposing corruption within the Azerbaijani government. Her arrest last December and the subsequent shutdown of the RFE/RL bureau in Baku were direct attacks on media freedom. These actions directly contradict Azerbaijan’s many international obligations and domestic laws, including its commitments in the OSCE. We call on Azerbaijan to release Ms. Ismayilova and other prisoners of conscience immediately.”

European Union Special Representative (EUSR) for Human Rights, Stavros Lambrinidis, wrote  on his Twitter that Khadija Ismayilova should have never been arrested, let alone convicted, for exercising her freedom of speech rights.

Suzanne Nossel, the executive director of the literary organization Pen American Center, issued a statement  saying that the conviction of investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova is part of a longstanding campaign by the government to banish and punish one of Azerbaijan's most courageous and potent dissident voice. Nossel said Ismayilova became a martyr, and her conviction “is a brazen effort to deter those who would scrutinize the increasing corruption of President Aliyev and his cronies.”

The Guardian  writes that in a country where there is no guaranteed freedom of the press and an absence of the rule of law, journalists are subject to unfair punishments. “It is clear that she got under the skin of the Azerbaijani authorities with her determination to expose corruption at the highest levels of a government,” the author of the article highlights.
Ismayilova was arrested for criticizing President Ilham Aliyev’s government. “She is one of the most popular journalists in Azerbaijan,” the leader of the Musavat opposition party, Arif Khacili, said as cited by Euronews . “83 political prisoners are currently being held in this country.”

The verdict against Ismayilova came just three weeks after the authorities in Azerbaijan handed long term sentences to the most famous Azerbaijani human rights defender Leyla Yunus and her husband Arif. Similar sentences are expected to be handed to other critics of the ruling regime in the folowing months. This repression against dissent makes Azerbaijan the most authoritarian country in Europe, BBC Russian service writes.

According to the report, on 1 September 2015, the president Ilham Aliyev held a Cabinet of Ministers meeting dedicated to the economic situation in the country. “This coincidence contains a covert signal. Whenever the oil prices drop and the entire region experiences economic downturn, the president faces a challenge to double his efforts to press on the dissidents. Now he has to prevent even the smallest attempts of protest against his rule and punish those who dared to voice their critical views,” BBC highlights.

Further, the outlet points that this also includes a message for the international community. Almost all the detained critics of the president Aliyev were considered to be pro-Western figures. Ismayilova worked for RFE/RL, which is financed by the U.S. government and has now ceased its broadcast in Azerbaijan. On 21 December 2014, U.S. State Secretary John Kerry expressed concern to Ilham Aliyev over the crackdown on the civil society in the country. Five days later Baku office of RFE/RL was closed down. In April, government officials blamed Kerry of conducting an anti-Azerbaijan campaign.

On 1 September 2015, Baku Court of Grave Crimes handed down a 7.6 years prison sentence to the Azerbaijani journalist Khadija Ismayilova. The court found her guilty of the Articles 179 (embezzlement and misappropriation), 192 (illegal business), 213 (tax evasion) and 308 (abuse of power) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, Ismayilova was cleared from the article 125 (incitement to commit suicide) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan. Earlier, the public prosecutor, RamazanHadiyev, had claimed 9 years of imprisonment for Khadija Ismayilova.

Related:
Khadija Ismayilova sentenced to 7.6 years in prison for unmasking Ilham Aliyev’s personal business 
Int’l response: Verdict against Khadija Ismayilova is Azerbaijan authorities’ revenge against critics