Azerbaijani court hands down lengthy jail terms to activists
Leyla and Arif Yunus were given at least seven years on false charges
17.08.2015
An Azerbaijani court has sentenced two human rights activists to at least seven years in prison for alleged treason and other charges, rights group Freedom House has reported.
Leyla and Arif Yunus were given at least seven years on false charges, a Freedom House official said in a statement released on Aug. 13.
“It is outrageous that the government of Azerbaijan arrested the respected human rights activists Leyla and Arif Yunus, falsely charged and convicted them of charges ranging from treason to tax evasion, and sentenced them to at least seven years imprisonment,” said Daniel Calingaert, the executive vice-president of the group. “Leyla and Arif Yunus have serious medical issues. The government of Azerbaijan should free them because of both their innocence and their medical condition,” he added.
Leyla Yunus, who heads the Institute for Peace and Democracy, is known for her fierce criticism of Azerbaijan’s government. According to Freedom House, she has also played a significant role in dialogues with members of Armenian civil society.
Freedom House stated that Arif Yunus is a well-known historian and researcher of frozen conflicts across the Caucasus and of religious freedoms.
The two activists were arrested in the summer of 2014 while compiling a list of political prisoners in Azerbaijan.
According to Freedom House democracy indices, Azerbaijan is rated Not Free in Freedom in the World 2015, Not Free in Freedom of the Press 2015, Partly Free in Freedom on the Net 2014. The country has a a democracy score of 6.75 on a scale of 1 to 7, with 7 being the worst possible score, in Nations in Transit 2015.