Khadija Ismayilova, an Azerbaijani-based writer and investigative journalist, has been released from prison. The Supreme Court of Azerbaijani granted her a suspended sentence and placed her on probation.
Ismayilova endured incarceration for seven and a half years. Many human rights organizations believe that she was wrongfully imprisoned because of her efforts in exposing official corruption within her home country.
Here’s more from PEN America’s press release: “PEN America awarded Ismayilova, a tireless investigative journalist, the prestigious PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award at its 2015 Literary Gala in New York. The Freedom to Write Award is given to an author or journalist in prison and is accompanied by a global campaign to demand the writer’s release. The 2015 Award was accentuated by an international effort by PEN America involving the world’s foremost satirical cartoonists, who created original cartoons demanding Khadija’s release that were circulated and displayed worldwide.”