At least one embassy official looked on with security police during the peaceful rally. Ismayilova is currently serving a two-month pretrial detention on charges she caused a former co-worker to attempt suicide. The arrest caps years of harassment directed against Ismayilova, a vocal critic of the Azerbaijan government.
Among the signs protesting her confinement and human rights violations was one simple placard: “Freedom Is More Important Than Gas”. Azerbaijan has steadily increased its market share of gas for heating in Georgia in recent years, and the state-owned oil company SOCAR is Georgia’s largest commercial taxpayer.
