Watchdog

The mother of imprisoned Azerbaijani journalist Khadija Ismayilova has accepted the 2016 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize on her daughter's behalf.

"Humanity suffers when journalists are silenced. Therefore, some people believe that the killing of journalists constitutes a crime against humanity," Elmira Ismayilova told attendees at the ceremony in Helsinki, reading from a speech written by her daughter that included references to Elmar Huseynov, an independent Azerbaijani journalist and government critic who was shot dead in 2005.

"As you gather here tonight," the elder Ismayilova relayed, "I ask you not to laud my work or my courage, but to dedicate yourself to the work each one of you can do on behalf of press freedom and justice."

Khadija Ismayilova, a freelance journalist and frequent contributor to RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service, was arrested in December 2014. In September, she was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison on tax-evasion and embezzlement charges that have been widely denounced as retaliation for her reporting linking members of President Ilham Aliyev's family to allegedly corrupt business practices.

"Today is her 516th day in prison," CNN senior international correspondent and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Christiane Amanpour told a press conference in Helsinki before the award ceremony. "And here, from this stage, I'm personally calling on...the Azerbaijan government to free her."

RFE/RL Editor in Chief Nenad Pejic welcomed the prize, calling it "powerful recognition of Khadija's work and her undeniable right to freedom."

READ: Ismayilova's Words Of Defiance

The $25,000 prize is named to honor Guillermo Cano Isaza, a Colombian journalist who was killed outside his newspaper's offices in Bogota on December 17, 1986. It was established in 1997 to honor a person or individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the defense of press freedom.

Past laureates include Russia's Anna Politkovskaya in 2007, Iran's Ahmad Zeidabadi in 2011, and Azerbaijan's Eynulla Fatullayev in 2012.

The award presentation is held on May 3 to mark World Press Freedom Day.

The UNESCO prize is one of many international awards that Ismayilova, 39, has garnered both before and after her arrest. In 2012, she won the Courage in Journalism Award of the International Women's Media Foundation.

On May 27, a group of nongovernmental organizations plans to hold support rallies in 40 different cities to mark Ismayilova's 40th birthday.

Jailed Azerbaijani investigative Khadija Ismayilova has been awarded the 2016 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize.

Ismayilova, a freelance journalist and frequent contributor to RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service, was arrested in December 2014.

In September 2015, she was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison on tax-evasion and embezzlement charges that have been widely denounced as retaliation for her reporting, which linked members of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's family to allegedly corrupt business practices.

The $25,000 prize, named in honor of a Colombian journalist who was assassinated in 1986, was presented on May 3 during the celebration of World Press Freedom Day.

Ismayilova's mother, Elmira, picked up the award on Khadija's behalf and read out this speech that her daughter had written for the occasion:

Dear ladies and gentlemen, distinguished colleagues,

You have graciously and generously gathered tonight on the occasion of the award of the annual Guillermo Cano award for press freedom. If you don’t mind, I will take a minute to pay tribute to Mr. Cano, since the award is very much about him, a person, as much as it is about press freedom, a principle.

Guillermo Cano was killed on December 17, 1986, in front of his paper's office. (Cano was a victim of drug-trafficking mafias, which he fearlessly denounced and about whose harmful effects on Colombian society he cautioned). In all of his work, he refused to compromise and sought justice.

As the recipient of the 2016 prize, I want to take this opportunity tonight, to present you with Mr. Cano's career and accomplishments, not as a cause for celebration, but as a call to action. His legacy remains profoundly incomplete. For all of us here tonight, there is much work that remains to be done.

Let me explain. Have you heard of Elmar Huseynov? He is Azerbaijan’s Guillermo Cano, and I believe his work and his sacrifice must be honored here tonight. Elmar was the editor of an independent human rights magazine called The Monitor, which was unique in its simple journalistic mission to tell the truth about domestic developments in Azerbaijan.

Elmar was gunned down in front of his apartment on March 2, 2005. His wife and child were home when the shots were fired.

There has been no investigation into his murder, no prosecution, no assignment of blame. Elmar Huseynov's murder was one of the countless crimes against journalists that have met with impunity in Azerbaijan. As we memorialize Guillermo Cano, we must remember Elmar Huseynov, and their shared service to the truth must not be in vain.

And now me. As you know, I speak to you from my prison cell, on the occasion of an award I cannot claim. My crime? Investigative journalism -- exposing corruption linked to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and members of his family. My conviction? Seven and a half years in prison as the result of a trial in which there was no incriminating evidence or a single witness who testified against me. I remain alive to fight for justice, unlike my colleague and dear friend Elmar; but it is a challenge I cannot accomplish on my own.

Which brings me to you.

Humanity suffers when journalists are silenced. This is why some people believe that the killing of journalists constitutes a crime against humanity. As you gather here tonight, I ask you not to laud my work or my courage, but to dedicate yourself to the work each one of you can do on behalf of press freedom and justice.

You now have a relationship to Guillermo Cano, to Elmar Huseynov, and to me. We are all degraded and dehumanized by attacks on our fundamental rights, by contempt for justice, by disdain for fairness and denial of the truth. We, globally, brought together tonight to honor press freedom, must pledge to fight for it.

It is fitting that, UNESCO, the world's protector of human civilization and achievement, has united us in this mission. So what does tonight's call to action involve? For all of us – individuals, organizations, and states, it means:

-- Stand up for the truth, and dare to ask questions and be critically minded;

-- Accept no excuse for political prisoners. Societies cannot develop without scrutiny and public criticism. Dissent is not grounds for jail;

-- Fight corruption and demand integrity and the rule of law from your governments and allies. Corruption is evil and profoundly degenerative. Don't ignore it, or abet it;

-- Expect no security without trust, and no meaningful strategic alliance with partners that hold international standards and commitments in contempt;

-- Don't be afraid. Your sacrifice is worth it.

I accept tonight's award with humility, in view of the work and sacrifice that has preceded me and the work that remains to be done.

Fight with me for freedom, and for truth.