Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has called on Azerbaijani authorities to investigate a renewed blackmail and intimidation campaign against investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova.
The call in a press release on August 1 came after the online release of a new video containing intimate and illegally obtained images of Ismayilova, who reports for the Azerbaijani Service of the U.S.-funded broadcaster.
In addition to posting the video, the website also ran a fake interview attributed to a colleague that was meant to discredit the journalist, who was also subjected to similar online abuse last year.
RFE/RL acting President Kevin Close called on the Azerbaijani government "to provide meaningful support and protection to journalists."
Ismayilova's reports have implicated President Ilham Aliyev, who will run for an unprecedented third term in October, in murky financial activities worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
The call in a press release on August 1 came after the online release of a new video containing intimate and illegally obtained images of Ismayilova, who reports for the Azerbaijani Service of the U.S.-funded broadcaster.
In addition to posting the video, the website also ran a fake interview attributed to a colleague that was meant to discredit the journalist, who was also subjected to similar online abuse last year.
RFE/RL acting President Kevin Close called on the Azerbaijani government "to provide meaningful support and protection to journalists."
Ismayilova's reports have implicated President Ilham Aliyev, who will run for an unprecedented third term in October, in murky financial activities worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
