BAKU, Azerbaijan - A court in Azerbaijan says the trial of an investigative journalist will begin next month in a case widely criticized by human rights organizations.

Khadija Ismayilova, who has been jailed since December, has reported on corruption allegedly involving the family of President Ilham Aliyev. The arrest was condemned by activists as an attempt to stifle independent reporting and crack down on dissidents.

Azerbaijan's human rights record came under scrutiny in June, when it hosted the first European Games. On the first day of the games, a letter from Ismayilova was released saying "things have never been worse" in the country.

At a preliminary hearing Friday, the court said her trial on charges including tax evasion and trying to incite a colleague to commit suicide would start Aug. 7.