Activists Say Baku's Crackdown On Media, Rights Workers Continues

Human rights and media activists say Azerbaijan's crackdown on civil society has continued unabated, as they cited the imprisonment of investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova.

Ismayilova, who is also a RFE/RL contributor based in Baku, was sentenced in September to seven 1/2 years in prison on charges widely seen as trumped up.

Speaking at a December 16 hearing of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, Amnesty International advocate T. Kumar said authorities have used "any tactic under the sun" to target journalists like Ismayilova.