Khaled Hosseini joins calls to release Azerbaijani writer Khadija Ismayilova

The Kite Runner’s author condemns the imprisonment and ‘attempts to silence’ the journalist and translator of his novel

The Kite Runner author Khaled Hosseini has described the freedom to write without fear of persecution as “sacred” as he adds his voice to the growing international chorus calling for the release of Azerbaijani journalist and translator Khadija Ismayilova.

Ismayilova is an award-winning investigative journalist and critic of the Azerbaijani government, who contributes to Radio Free Europe as well as other outlets. She was arrested a month ago in Baku, Azerbaijan for allegedly inciting a man to suicide, and sentenced to two months in pre-trial detention, with a potential prison sentence of up to seven years.

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