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Charges Against Leyla Yunus are Trumped Up: Amnesty International

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  • Charges Against Leyla Yunus are Trumped Up: Amnesty International

    Charges Against Leyla Yunus are Trumped Up: Amnesty International

    07.31.2014 12:57 epress.am
    http://www.epress.am/en/2014/07/31/charges-against-leyla-yunus-are-trumped-up-amnesty-international.html


    The treason charges against Leyla and Arif Yunus are trumped up and
    are part of a process of on-going harassment against them in
    connection with Leyla Yunus's activism, believes Amnesty
    International.

    "Leyla Yunus is yet another independent voice in Azerbaijan who, for a
    long time, the government has tried to silence through threats and
    intimidation. Failing to achieve this, they have now resorted to
    trumped up charges and detention in order to punish her for
    criticizing the government," said Natalia Nozadze, Amnesty
    International's researcher on Azerbaijan.

    The persecution of human rights activists continues unabated in
    Azerbaijan, in spite of the obligations the country committed to as a
    member of Council of Europe and currently a chair of its decision
    making body, the Committee of Ministers, Amnesty International said
    today.

    "Today's detention is yet another example of the unrelenting
    suppression of critical voices that is a regular feature of life in
    the country. Members of the Council of Europe must challenge the
    Azerbaijani authorities for flouting the principles of the human
    rights body which Azerbaijan is chairing at the moment," said Nozadze.

    Amnesty International currently counts at least 19 prisoners of
    conscience behind bars solely for peacefully expressing their views.

    Note, on July 30, a Baku court placed Leyla Yunus under a three-month
    pre-trial detention and Arif Yunus with travel restrictions. According
    to media reports, authorities charged Leyla and Arif Yunus with
    treason and other charges related to fraud and tax evasion. According
    to the spouses' attorney, the couple deny all charges against them.

    Leyla Yunus has repeatedly said that the persecution against her is
    tied to the desire of the country's authorities to "expose a group of
    Armenian spies". She has been repeatedly questioned in the case of
    Azerbaijani Russian-language newspaper Zerkalo reporter Rauf
    Mirkadirov, who has been in custody for more than 3 months on charges
    of "collaborating with Armenia's secret police".

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