Verdict against Leyla and Arif Yunus is outrageous and must be nullified

AZERBAIJAN: Verdict against Leylaand Arif Yunus is outrageous and must be nullified

Geneva-Paris, August 13, 2015 – The Observatory's trial observer in Baku reports that Leyla Yunus andArif Yunusov have been handed 8.5 and 7 year jail sentences, respectively. The BakuGrave Crimes court pronounced the verdict after a speedy hearing of thedefence's final pleas. These sentencesare outrageous and aim purely at sanctioning the legitimate work of the twoAzeri human rights defenders, declared the Observatory. While these heavysentences are no surprise, they serve to further underline Azerbaijan'scomplete disregard for the international standards of fair trial and dueprocess.

The trial against Leyla Yunusand Arif Yunusovopened less than one month ago. The couple faced charges of “large-scale fraud,”, “forgery,” “tax evasion” and “illegalbusiness.” The observer sent by ourorganisations was present at the trial from Day One. However she was abruptlydenied entry to the courtroom today. Mr. Arif Yunusov fainted while making hisfinal plea and required immediate medical attention.The judge condemned the twoaccused respectively to 8.5 years in jailfor Ms. Yunus and 7 for Mr. Yunusov,directly following the end of the final hearing.

“The unprecedented speed with whichthe Yunus trial was carried out is appalling and tells us a lot about itsquality. The judgement is full of inaccuracies due to a total lack ofexamination of the evidence provided. Violations of international standards ofthe right to a fair trial were obvious,” declared Gerald Staberock,Secretary General of OMCT. “It is ashameful verdict that was unfortunately foreseeable since the beginning oftheir pre-trial detention one year ago” he added.

Leyla Yunus, Director of the Institute for Peaceand Democracy (IPD) and a member of OMCT General Assembly, and Arif Yunusov, Chief of IPD'sdepartment of conflictology, were arrested in the summer of 2014 as part of alarge-scale crackdown against Azeri human rights defenders and civil society.During the past year in detention, the deterioration of their health has beenappalling. Requests for access to the necessary medical treatment have beendenied multiple times.

Leyla Yunus has lost at least 16 kg since her arrest. She also suffers froma severe case of diabetes. In addition, her cellmate has violently accosted heron a number of occasions. Nonetheless, no measures were taken by thepenitentiary authorities to ensure her physical integrity. Arif Yunusov suffers from high bloodpressure and has lost consciousness several times, including during the August3 hearing which had to be adjourned when he had to be taken away in anambulance. His lawyer declared that his client’s health did not permit him toparticipate in the hearings any longer. However, this did not prevent the trialfrom continuing as scheduled.

The Observatory recalls that very similar and equallypolitically motivated sentences were already upheld in July 2015 after theappeal trials of human rights defenders Intigam Aliyev and RasulJafarov, who are currently serving 7.5 and 6.3 years in prison,respectively.

The Observatory also recalls that in addition to this trial,Leyla Yunus and Arif Yunusov still face charges of “state treason,” which willbe the object of a separate, future trial.

“Our organisationsstrongly condemn today’s sentences in the Yunus case, as well as all theprevious sentences against other human rights defenders in the country.Theyonly aimed to silence critical voices,” said FIDH Honorary President, Souhayr Belhassen. “Wewill continue to call for the authorities in Azerbaijan to immediately and unconditionallyrelease the Yunus couple and all human rights defenders currently detained inAzerbaijan for their work,” she added.

The Observatory for the Protection of HumanRights Defenders (OBS) was created in 1997 by the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and FIDH. The objective of this programme isto intervene to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rightsdefenders.

For more information, please contact :

• OMCT: Miguel Martín Zumalacárregui (Spanish / English / French) - Tel: +41 22809 49 39 (Geneva)
• FIDH: Lucie Kroening (French / English / German / Arabic) - Tel: +33 6 48 0591 57 (Paris) / Arthur Manet (French / English / Spanish) - Tel: +33 6 7228 42 94 (Paris)