Amal Clooney to defend Khadija Ismayilova at ECHR
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“Radio Liberty” Azerbaijani Service has confirmed the information that world famous human rights lawyer Amal Clooney has offered to take the case of jailed Azerbaijani famous journalist of “Radio Liberty” Khadija Ismayilova to the European Court of Human Rights. Ismayilova, an RFE/RL contributor, and her lawyer are said to be considering Clooney’s offer.
Clooney, famous for taking on several prominent cases in recent years in such countries as Egypt, Armenia, and the Maldives, defending people imprisoned on charges often seen by human rights groups as politically motivated, told NBC about the upcoming trial. Ismayilova was sentenced in September 2015 to 7.5 years in prison on charges of avoiding taxes and abused her official position.
Nevertheless, her case is widely viewed as being trumped up in retaliation for her reports linking family members of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to massive business and real estate holdings.