On December 18, the Drawing for Freedom exhibition was held in Paris. Organized by the Norwegian Helsinki Committee and FIDH international human rights organization, the exhibition showcased drawings by students of Oslo National Art Academy.
There were portraits of the arrested journalists Tofig Yagublu and Khadija Ismayil, REAL chairman Ilgar Mammadov, human rights defenders Intigam Aliyev and Rasul Jafarov, and the recently released human rights defenders Leyla Yunus and Arif Yunus.
Background: Ilgar Mammadov and Tofig Yagublu were arrested on February 4, 2013, in connection with the Ismayilli riots. On March 2014, they were sentenced to 7 and 5 years in jail respectively, on charges of organizing mass riots and resistance to authority.
Khadija Ismayil was arrested on 5 December 2014 on charge of incitement to suicide. She subsequently faced new charges under articles 179 (misappropriation), 192.2 (illegal entrepreneurship), 213.2 (tax evasion) and 308.2 (abuse of official powers). On September 1, 2015, she was convicted on all charges except the first one, which has dropped. She was sentenced to 7.5 years in jail.
Intigam Aliyev was arrested on 8 August 2014. On April 22, 2015, he was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison on charges of tax evasion, illegal entrepreneurship, misappropriation, service forgery and abuse of official powers.
Rasul Jafarov was arrested on August 2, 2014 and charged under Articles 192 (illegal business activity), 213 (tax evasion) and 308 (abuse of official powers) of the Criminal Code. On December 12, new charges were brought against Jafarov under Articles 179.3.2 (misappropriation) and 313 (service forgery) of the Criminal Code. He was sentenced to 6 years and 6 months in prison on April 16, 2015.