In a statement published on Aug 18, 2014, the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT) expressed concerns about the deteriorating health of human rights activist Leyla Yunus, held in an Azerbaijani prison.
Leyla, 59, served as the director of the Institute for Peace and Democracy. She was arrested on July 30 and charged with state treason, large-scale fraud, forgery, tax evasion and illegal business dealings. Her husband Arif Yunus, a writer and researcher, was also arrested on Aug. 5 on similar charges. They were both sentenced to a 3-month pre-trial detention.
In a statement, the public prosecutor’s department said that in 2002 the couple took Rauf Mirkadirov, the investigative journalist of the leading Russian-language newspaper Zerkalo, under their wings and taught him how to collect information about the political situation in Azerbaijan in an effort to spy for the Armenian government. It also said that Arif was with Mirkadirov during his trips, organizing meetings with the ex-Armenian National Security Minister, David Shahnazaryan. The couple was prevented from leaving Baku’s airport on April 28 because of their ties with the journalist. Their passports were confiscated. The same day, Leyla was detained and interrogated by police regarding the Mirkadirov case.
Leyla, who suffers from diabetes and kidney problems, needs urgent medical care. After a visit from delegates of the International Committee of the Red Cross last week, she was injected with painkillers but is still not allowed to be hospitalized.
On Aug. 5, Human Rights House Network wrote to the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, calling for “the immediate and unconditional release” of Leyla and her husband. They also demanded “an end to the harassment, attacks and detention of human rights defenders, journalists and activists,” reminding Azerbaijan of its “international obligations and commitments, especially as chair of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.”
Amnesty International also made a statement on Aug. 12, after the publication of a letter from Leyla, written from prison, in which she stated, “No doubt, for you it was a great battle. I overheard the state investigator, Ibrahim Lemberanski, in the Court room after the verdict for pre-trial detention was reached. He was happy and literally was shouting into the phone: ‘So, is there a party tonight?’” She also talked about her health condition saying, “My body turned out to be weaker than I expected.” Addressing the authorities, she wrote, “You could not tolerate our words. You responded with violence.”
In its statement, Amnesty International said that the organization “considers Leyla and Arif Yunus prisoners of conscience, jailed solely for their criticism of the Azerbaijani government” and that they have “longstanding concerns about the Azerbaijani authorities’ failure to respect their international obligations to protect the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly.”
Rachel Denber, Deputy Director of the Europe and Central Asia Division of Human Rights Watch said, “The authorities have to end immediately this campaign of intimidation against the main defenders of Human Rights in Azerbaijan and let them work freely.”
The Nobel Women’s Initiative, an organization supported by Leyla, issued a call on Aug. 18 which read as follows: “The United Nations General Assembly passed a landmark resolution last year calling on all states to support and defend women’s human rights defenders such as Leyla Yunus. The Azerbaijani authorities must honor its international obligations as a signatory of the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and end the campaign of intimidation against human rights activists.”
In recent years, Leyla has worked with Armenian activists towards reconciliation between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the status of Nagorno Karabagh Republic. She has received the National Order of the French Legion of Honor for her commitment to human rights. She is one of the most outspoken critics of the Aliyev government.
Fiona Guitard
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We hope no harm will be done Leyla Yunus & her husband in Azerbaijan on her Human Rights for Peace & Democracy. Pres. Aliev has threatened numerous times in taking back Armenia’s Historic territory of Artsakh with no action to stop these threats by the nations of the world including the United Nations. Stalin is also the guilty one by giving Armenia’s Historic Lands to Azerbaijan, Georgia, & Turkey. When will the world wake up to reality.