BAKU:– Azerbaijan's top court on Wednesday ordered the release of prominent investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova, who was jailed on corruption charges last year that triggered an international uproar, her lawyer said. "Azerbaijan's Supreme Court threw out Ismayilova's initial seven-and-a-half-year sentence and handed her a three-and-a-half-year suspended sentence," the lawyer, Fariz Namazly, told AFP. "We expect her to leave the prison later in the evening," he said.–AFP

Ismayilova, an award-winning journalist and anti-graft crusader was imprisoned in September 2015 for seven and a half years for economic crimes. She and her supporters have denounced the charges as politically motivated.