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INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS URGE AZERBAIJANI AUTHORITIES TO ENSURE PHYSICAL INTEGRITY OF LEYLA YUNUS
16:00 24/10/2014 >> POLITICS
A joint program of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against
Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
(OPCAT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
stated in the joint statement that are concerned by the recent decision
of transferring Ms. Leyla Yunus, to the Investigative Prison of the
Ministry of National Security, the official site of the organization
writes.
As it is noted in the press-release on October 18, the Azeri
authorities decided to transfer Ms. Leyla Yunus to the Investigative
Prison of the Ministry of National Security, where her husband Mr.
Arif Yunusov has been detained since August 5. The Investigative
Prison is the only remaining prison which is not subordinated to the
Ministry of Justice.
'Moving Leyla out of the ordinary justice system to the custody of
the national security ministry is putting her at immediate risk of
torture', said Gerald Staberock, OMCT Secretary General commenting on
the decision. 'This is also a deliberate attempt to prevent any further
information about her detention conditions to become public and thus
to effectively silence any international critique over her detention.
Various international human rights bodies such as the UN Committee
Against Torture (CAT) or the European Committee for the Prevention of
Torture (CPT) have expressed their concerns about the extreme levels
of isolation of the detainees and the absence of a proper medical
unit in this prison. The UN CAT has recommended this prison to be
either transferred to the Ministry of Justice or to be closed down.
The press-release also reads that that this measure comes soon after
the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) took
the unprecedented decision of suspending its visit to Azerbaijan
due to obstructions it encountered in carrying out its mandate
under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and
other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT),
to which Azerbaijan is a party.
Moreover, the Observatory has been informed that on October 23 the
office of the public prosecutor will be asking the Pre-Trial Court
for a three months extension of the period of investigative detention
for Leyla Yunus, the article reads.
"This latest decision follows six months of prosecution and arbitrary
detention of one of the country's leading human rights defenders.
Never was a presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council
of Europe, the continent's leading human rights body, overshadowed
by a similar wave of repression of human rights defenders. It is time
for Leyla Yunus to be released immediately and for those responsible
for this persecution to bear the responsibility", said Karim Lahidji,
FIDH President.
FIDH calls on the authorities in Azerbaijan to ensure Ms. Leyla Yunus'
physical and psychological integrity by providing adequate medical
care and appropriate protection measures as well as to release her
immediately and unconditionally, as her detention seems to only aim
at sanctioning her activities amidst a wave of increasing repression
against civil society organisations and representatives in Azerbaijan.
Human rights activist Leyla Yunus was arrested on 30 July in her
house yard. She was charged with state treason, tax evasion, illegal
entrepreneurship, falsification of documents and large-scale fraud.
Charges of state treason and large-scale fraud were also brought
against her husband Arif Yunusov. Based on these charges the court
arrested Yunus for three months.
http://www.panorama.am/en/politics/2014/10/24/leyla-yunus/
16:00 24/10/2014 >> POLITICS
A joint program of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against
Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
(OPCAT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
stated in the joint statement that are concerned by the recent decision
of transferring Ms. Leyla Yunus, to the Investigative Prison of the
Ministry of National Security, the official site of the organization
writes.
As it is noted in the press-release on October 18, the Azeri
authorities decided to transfer Ms. Leyla Yunus to the Investigative
Prison of the Ministry of National Security, where her husband Mr.
Arif Yunusov has been detained since August 5. The Investigative
Prison is the only remaining prison which is not subordinated to the
Ministry of Justice.
'Moving Leyla out of the ordinary justice system to the custody of
the national security ministry is putting her at immediate risk of
torture', said Gerald Staberock, OMCT Secretary General commenting on
the decision. 'This is also a deliberate attempt to prevent any further
information about her detention conditions to become public and thus
to effectively silence any international critique over her detention.
Various international human rights bodies such as the UN Committee
Against Torture (CAT) or the European Committee for the Prevention of
Torture (CPT) have expressed their concerns about the extreme levels
of isolation of the detainees and the absence of a proper medical
unit in this prison. The UN CAT has recommended this prison to be
either transferred to the Ministry of Justice or to be closed down.
The press-release also reads that that this measure comes soon after
the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) took
the unprecedented decision of suspending its visit to Azerbaijan
due to obstructions it encountered in carrying out its mandate
under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and
other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT),
to which Azerbaijan is a party.
Moreover, the Observatory has been informed that on October 23 the
office of the public prosecutor will be asking the Pre-Trial Court
for a three months extension of the period of investigative detention
for Leyla Yunus, the article reads.
"This latest decision follows six months of prosecution and arbitrary
detention of one of the country's leading human rights defenders.
Never was a presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council
of Europe, the continent's leading human rights body, overshadowed
by a similar wave of repression of human rights defenders. It is time
for Leyla Yunus to be released immediately and for those responsible
for this persecution to bear the responsibility", said Karim Lahidji,
FIDH President.
FIDH calls on the authorities in Azerbaijan to ensure Ms. Leyla Yunus'
physical and psychological integrity by providing adequate medical
care and appropriate protection measures as well as to release her
immediately and unconditionally, as her detention seems to only aim
at sanctioning her activities amidst a wave of increasing repression
against civil society organisations and representatives in Azerbaijan.
Human rights activist Leyla Yunus was arrested on 30 July in her
house yard. She was charged with state treason, tax evasion, illegal
entrepreneurship, falsification of documents and large-scale fraud.
Charges of state treason and large-scale fraud were also brought
against her husband Arif Yunusov. Based on these charges the court
arrested Yunus for three months.
http://www.panorama.am/en/politics/2014/10/24/leyla-yunus/