A court in Azerbaijan on Wednesday, November 25, threw out an appeal by the country's top investigative journalist against her imprisonment on corruption charges, saying her complaints were unfounded, AFP reports.

"The court deems Khadija Ismayilova's appeal unfounded. Her initial sentence remains in force," the court of appeals in the capital Baku said in the ruling.

Ismayilova, an award-winning journalist and anti-graft campaigner was imprisoned in September for seven and a half years for economic crimes.

She and her supporters denounced the charges as politically motivated.

Considered Azerbaijan's most prominent opposition journalist, Ismayilova served as bureau chief for the local service of the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty network between 2008 and 2010.

The 39-year-old reporter probed the alleged vast riches amassed by President Ilham Aliyev and his family, who have ruled with an iron fist since independence from the Soviet Union in the 1990s.

International rights groups and the Western governments have condemned Ismayilova's jailing and urged the authorities to release her from prison.

Amnesty International rights watchdog has called her a "prisoner of conscience," AFP says.

Washington-based NGO Freedom House says there are now more than 80 political prisoners in Azerbaijan. Aliyev, 53, strongly denies accusations of rights abuses.