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Imprisoned Azerbaijani journalist Khadija Ismayilova, famous for her investigations of the financial crimes of the president Ilham Aliyev, his clan, and other political elite representatives, sent a letter to the Washington Post. The letter is published on the website of the newspaper .

“I am writing this letter from jail in Baku, Azerbaijan, where I’m serving a sentence for a crime I never committed. I am a journalist and my only ‘crime’ was to investigate high-level corruption within the highest authority levels,” the journalist writes.

Ismayilova highlights that to get an invitation to the Washington Nuclear Security Summit from the US president, Aliyev had to pardon several political prisoners. Although they have been released from jail, they remain confined within the country, barred from leaving, and justice has not been restored.

“This is a very costly invitation for Aliyev, who for years refused to accept international pressure or criticism on this issue,” Ismayilova notes adding that in December of the last year, the head of the US Helsinki Commission introduced to the Congress the Azerbaijan Democracy Act to recognize Azerbaijan’s violations of human rights and freedoms and to hold individual officials accountable.

The journalist further wonders: why did Aliyev suddenly decide to set some of the political prisoners free? She notes that he needed these prisoners so that in exchange for their release, he could shake hands with Obama or get a loan from the World Bank to finance his failing currency and crippled economy after the sudden fall of oil prices.

According to her, Aliyev is shamelessly trying to use political prisoners as bargaining chips to advance his foreign policy agenda. “I am not a toy to be exchanged for diplomatic gain by Baku or Washington so that officials can continue to pretend that it is business as usual. We are hostages of the regime, whether we are inside or outside of prison. Freedom is my universal and constitutional right, and Aliyev failed to protect it as the head of state. I am not going to ask to be pardoned for a crime I never committed. I am free even now, in jail, and my freedom is not for sale,” Ismayilova states.

She also applied to the US president in the letter asking him to call Aliyev to stop muzzling the independent media and civil society. She also called on him to ask Aliyev when he is going to hold free and fair elections, to let all the political prisoners go free, and when fundamental freedoms can become a right. “I asked these questions, and I ended up in jail,” the journalist sums up.

Meanwhile, according to Minval.az, on May 27, symbolic actions will be held in several countries of the world to support Khadiha Ismayilova, who will turn 40 that day.

At the same time, recently released Azerbaijani activists Intigam Aliyev, Rasul Jafarov, and Anar Mammadli write for the Guardian that two weeks ago, they were behind bars for dissent and there are still many prisoners in the country convicted for trumped-up charges for criticizing the authorities. They particularly mention journalist Khadija Ismayilova and the leader of the opposition Republican Alternative Movement, Ilagar Mammadov, who was a candidate for the 2013 Presidential elections.

“We cannot fully enjoy our own freedom until the other political prisoners are released. The rule of law must be respected in our country and criminal charges should not be used as a cover up for politically motivated detentions of the regime’s opponents,” the authors noted.

They also remind that a few hours before Rasul Jafarov was pardoned, the European Court of Human Rights declared his detention “politically motivated,” as well as obliged the Azerbaijani authorities to pay him a compensation. Before that, the European Court had also rendered a verdict on Ilgar Mammadov’s case, however, the authorities of the country did not pay any attention to the given conflicts.

Meanwhile, a former political prisoner and deputy chairman of Musavat party, Tofig Yagublu, pardoned on March 17 told Meydan.tv that all the political prisoners in the country had been arrested by president Aliyev’s personal order. He noted that all the people, who struggle against the regime, should act jointly.

In his turn, journalist Giorgi Lomsadze writes for Eurasianet.org that during president Aliyev’s meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry in the frameworks of the Nuclear Security Summit, the parties emphasized the importance of some aspects of energy policy and cooperation. “In his public remarks, Kerry skipped the controversial matter of Azerbaijan’s political prisoners. Only a post-meeting press release took note of Azerbaijan’s ‘recent positive steps’ and urged ‘further progress’ on the human-rights front,” the author notes.

He also writes that according to experts, “the prison doors are opening” because Aliyev needs “to cushion Western criticism” amidst an economic squeeze. He reminded that due to the critical economic situation and national currency’s two-time devaluation, spontaneous protests started in several Azerbaijani regions in the beginning of the year.

“Azerbaijan denies that it is seeking international financial assistance, and still sticks to vanity projects, such as plans to host a Formula One race,” Lomsadze continues.

It is noted that against the pardon of several political prisoners and Ilham Aliyev’s visit to Washington, prose writer Akram Aylisli was detained in the Baku airport. Aylisli ran afoul of the political establishment because of his 2013 novel Stone Dreams, in which the pogroms of the Armenians in Azerbaijan are described.

Human Rights Watch, an international watchdog, had cautioned Western leaders not to be taken in by Aliyev’s attempts “to polish his image” and emphasized the necessity of putting pressure on Baku until all controversially arrested individuals are freed.

“The caveat is that when Western governments think of Azerbaijan, they tend to think first of a big gas pipeline, and only later of a repressive government,” the author sums up.

In addition, commenting on Akram Aylisli’s detention, Italian journalist Simone Zoppellaro writes for The Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso  that he had interviewed the writer shortly before the incident.

To the journalist’s question about the consequences of the publication of Stone Dreams for him and his family, Aylisli answered that Azerbaijani authorities show no tolerance to writers who have their own outlook on the crucial social events. “The power punishes such writers cruelly and horribly. And I was dealt with just in such way – cruelly and horribly,” the writer said.