NOVANEWSKhadija Ismayilova gained international recognition for a series of investigations into corruption in Azerbaijai's government. | Photo: AFP Award winning investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova says prison wont stop her from reporting on government corruption. An Azerbaijani journalist who gained international recognition for investigating government corruption was sentenced Tuesday to seven-and-a-half years in prison. A court in Azerbaijan's capital Baku found Khadija Ismayilova guilty of charges including tax evasion, abuse of power, illegal business activities and libel. Human rights groups have decried the charges as baseless, and Ismayilova herself described the case against her as a “scam” aimed to silence dissent in the small Caucasus nation. "Khadija's case is an example of politics, not law. There was no merit, ever, to any of the charges against her and there was no due process during her trial," said Nenad Pejic, the editor in chief of Azerbaijan's Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty, known as RFE/RL. "The authorities simply decided to silence her at any price,” Pejic said. From 2010 RFE/RL was the main publisher of a series of exposes by Ismayilova, which appeared to show Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev and his government have engaged in massive corruption. In 2012, she sparked a national controversy when she published an investigation revealing how Aliyev's family was awarded rights to a lucrative gold field. In another report two years later, Ismayilova reported on allegations one of Aliyev's daughters secretly ran one of Azerbaijan's largest telecommunications companies. The report aired allegations the Aliyev family ties to the company had been concealed through a number of shell companies based in Panama to circumvent legal obligations in Azerbaijan. Throughout her years of reporting, Ismayilova's investigations allegedly showed how the Aliyev family had also exploited their power to secure unpublicized tenders for almost all profitable services of Azerbaijan Airlines, while managing a vast portfolio of international real estate. Earlier this year, Ismayilova and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project published a report alleging the president's family owned an “enormous chunk” of Baku's luxury hotels. The report was released after the government spent billions of dollars worth of taxpayer funds on an international publicity campaign for the upcoming European Games in Baku. The games are expected to be a major source of revenue for businesses in the capital, including hotels. RELATED: Baku 2015: The Censored Games The revelations of the president and his family's immense wealth and lucrative assets shocked many Azerbaijanis, after years of Aliyev's government portraying itself on the international stage as a credible emerging democracy. In response, the government has launched what critics say is one of the largest crackdowns on press freedoms in recent years. Azerbaijan is now widely regarded as one of the most censored countries in the world, and at least seven prominent journalists are now behind bars. During her sentencing, Ismayilova delivered a defiant statement, warning the government “real journalists and mindful citizens” would continue to expose corruption. "I might be in prison, but the work will continue," she said, according to RFE/RL. Mid-way through delivering the prepared statement in court, Ismayilova was cut off by the judge, though RFE/RL has since published the full speech. In the document, Ismayilova said she plans to turn her sentence into “an opportunity.” "I am going to have an opportunity to expose [abuses in] the penitentiary services," she said. Ismayilova added, "I won't break under a 15 – or even a 25-year sentence."
