Prominent Azerbaijani rights activists not allowed to leave country
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 11 March 2016 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Prominent Azerbaijani rights activists not allowed to leave country, 11 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/570cdfdac.html [accessed 18 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
March 11, 2016
By RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service
Baku says that Azerbaijani human rights activists Leyla Yunus and her husband, Arif Yunus, are not permitted to travel abroad to receive medical treatment.
The Court of Appeals in Baku ruled on March 11 that the couple cannot travel to Germany due to their suspended prison terms.
Leyla Yunus and Arif Yunus were sentenced to 8-1/2 and seven years in prison, respectively, in August after a court found them guilty of economic crimes.
The sentencings were denounced as a travesty of justice by the two defendants and by international human rights groups.
In November and December, they were released on health grounds and their imprisonment sentences were reduced to suspended sentences.
Leyla Yunus, 60, the founding director of the unregistered Peace and Democracy Institute in Baku, and her husband, Arif Yunus, 61, who worked for the organization, say they need urgent medical treatment in Germany.
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
