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                   RFE/RL Journalist Khadija Ismayilova Freed

   by RFE/RL

   Azerbaijan's Supreme Court has ordered that RFE/RL journalist Khadija
   Ismayilova be released from custody after reducing her prison term from
   7 1/2 years in custody to a suspended term of 3 1/2 years.

   The court made the decision on May 25 after hearing an appeal by the
   journalist.

   [1]WATCH: Live From Outside Supreme Court
   Ismayilova was detained in December 2014 and sentenced in September
   2015 on tax-evasion and embezzlement charges. Western governments and
   international press-freedom groups had called for her release.

   [2]ALSO READ: The Reporting That Jailed Khadija
   The charges have widely been seen as retaliation for her award-winning
   investigative reporting linking the family of Azerbaijan President
   Ilham Aliyev to corruption.

   On May 27, a group of nongovernmental organizations plans to hold
   support rallies in 40 different cities to mark Ismayilova's 40th
   birthday.
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   [3]http://www.voanews.com/content/rferl-journalist-khadija-ismayilova-f
   reed/3345159.html

References

   1. https://www.facebook.com/azadliqradiosu/videos/1299528543407940/
   2. http://www.rferl.org/content/azerbaijan-corruption-investigator-khadija-ismayilova/27138496.html
   3. http://www.voanews.com/content/rferl-journalist-khadija-ismayilova-freed/3345159.html