Anne Brasseur and Thorbjørn Jagland welcome the release of Arif Yunus

“I welcome the release of Arif Yunus on humanitarian grounds and hope that more prisoners will be released soon and especially those whose health condition is a matter of serious concern,” Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly President Anne Brasseur declared today.

“That said, the concerns raised by the legal proceedings against Arif Yunus and other human rights defenders and journalists have not been resolved. I appeal, once more, to the authorities of Azerbaijan to act in accordance with the standards of the European Convention on Human Rights and their commitments and obligations to the Council of Europe,” the President added. 

In Resolution 2062 (2015), the Assembly called on the authorities of Azerbaijan to “put an end to systemic repression of human rights defenders, the media and those critical of the government, including politically motivated prosecutions”.

On 16 October 2015, the PACE President wrote to the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, expressing her “deepest concerns” over the human rights situation in the country. 

 Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland has on several occasions expressed his concern over the detention of human rights defenders in Azerbaijan including Arif Yunus. The Secretary General therefore welcomes his release from jail as a humanitarian gesture and hopes that similar decisions will follow. -16D04-