Khadija Ismayilova released from prison (Photo: Meydan TV)Journalist Khadija Ismayilova was set free after her final appeal hearing today at the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan two days before her 40th birthday.

Journalist Khadija Ismayilova will be able to appeal her imprisonment decision in a Supreme Court of Azerbaijan hearing on May 25, according to Trend News Agency. This is the final appeal in the Azerbaijani Court system. If she is unsuccessful the next step would be to take the case to the European courts.

Knightsbridge apartments penthouses

With a wide semi-circular entrance hall and doormen in tops-and-tails, the apartment building at 199 Knightsbridge in London is all glass, polished marble, and clean lines. Advertised as an enclave of private residential apartments in the capital’s heart, the penthouse of the prestigious development is yet another home for Leyla and Arzu Aliyeva, daughters of the president of Azerbaijan.

Swedish prosecutors say they won’t be pressing charges against Swedish-Finnish telco Telia Company (formerly TeliaSonera) for a suspected record bribe in Azerbaijan based on their recently completed investigation.

Soon, it will have been a year since reporters for OCCRP and other organizations took a long, hard look at what is going on inside Azerbaijan’s prison system.

In May of 2013, the government of Azerbaijan, via its State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), injected $750,000 into an obscure Texas-based non-profit, the Assembly of the Friends of Azerbaijan (AFAZ).

In mid-2014, investigative reporter and OCCRP partner Khadija Ismayilova disclosed that the family of the President of Azerbaijan is, in all likelihood, a business partner with the Swedish-Finnish telecom formerly called TeliaSonera.

Fairfax Media and the Huffington Post have revealed a link between the Panama Papers and their joint investigation into a bribe-and-corruption scandal centering on the Monaco-based company Unaoil.

International human rights lawyer Amal Clooney said Azerbaijan is abusing its power by trying to silence its critics, including imprisoned OCCRP partner and reporter Khadija Ismayilova, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).

The FGJ, a Swedish organization for investigative journalism, has awarded OCCRP and its Swedish partners SVT and TT a Golden Shovel award for its joint bribery investigation into TeliaSonera’s business dealings in Azerbaijan.

Authorities turned away activists and journalists attempting to visit imprisoned OCCRP partner Khadija Ismayilova on Monday, according to Voice of America (VoA).

Former US Rep. Dan Burton (R-Indiana) resigned as chairman of the Azerbaijan America Alliance on Mar. 1 saying he has not been paid for his services for a year, reported Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).

The Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has nominated Irina Bokova, currently Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), as a candidate for the post of United Nations Secretary-General, according to a news release by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Feb. 9.

In a Jan. 28 letter to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, US Representative Ed Royce (R-CA) said that the continued detention of OCCRP reporter Khadija Ismayilova and other journalists would “harm relations between our two countries,” according to Radio Free Europe.

Transparency International (TI) released its 2015 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) on Wednesday, writing that while a handful of nations in Europe and Central Asia have improved, many are seeing corruption grow while civil society space and democracy shrinks.

About 300 employees of the Azerbaijan International Mineral Resources Operating Company Ltd. (AIMROC) protested outside Parliament in Baku Monday saying they have not been paid for 21 months.

Lawyer Fariz Namazli confirmed Thursday that Amal Clooney will represent Khadija Ismayilova at the European Court of Human Rights, according to Radio Free Europe.

Nils Muiznieks, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, today expressed concerns about the freedom of expression in Azerbaijan in written remarks on the case of investigative reporter Khadija Ismayilova, according to a release by theCouncil of Europe.

A Baku prosecutor demanded a guilty sentence and 7 years imprisonment for journalist Rauf Mirkadyrov, a correspondent for the Azerbaijani newspaper Zerkalo, reported Caucasian Knot.

Azerbaijani human rights activist Leyla Yunus was released from prison early today by the Baku Court of Appeals due to deteriorating health, according to Meydan TV.