Azerbaijan: when we start chasing democrats, peace is slipping away

On the eve of the official visit of French President Francois Hollande French press in Azerbaijan paid attention harassed director of the Institute for Peace and Democracy Leyla Yunus , who was attracted to the investigation of the case in the framework of spying for Armenia by the columnist of Zerkalo Rauf Mirkadirov .

Last typical article was published on May 6 in Le Huffington post, which is part of the media group Le Monde. In the article " Azerbaijan: When hunting for Democrats evolving world removed » http://www.huffingtonpost.fr/jeanluc-bennahmias/azerbaidjan-chasse-democrates-paix_b_5271985.html

the journalist and member of the Green faction in the European Parliament, Jean -Luc Bennahmias through the prism of the Yunus case tries to uncover the characteristics of the regime in Azerbaijan.

April 28 Leyla Yunus , known Azerbaijani human rights activist , in 2013 awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor , was brutally deprived of the opportunity to fly from Baku to Paris . She and her husband Arif were invited to a conference organized by the European Commission in Brussels.

In the hours that followed, the journalist couple Yunusovs were exposed moral and psychological pressure and harassment from the police and the prosecutor's office, which led to the hospital bed of her husband.

The journalist characterizes this situation as a witch hunt. Leyla and Arif Yunus are civil rights advocates, and opposing the bellicose policies of President Aliyev, they openly call for dialogue between Armenian and Azerbaijani civil society. Three days before their detention Leyla Yunus and her Armenian counterpart Laura Baghdasaryan signed a joint appeal entitled "Together for peace for our children." As for her husband Arif , heis a  known political scientist and author of several books and hundreds of articles , including the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict , more than ten years he participated in conferences in Armenia , said Bennahmias.

The author cites the example of an earlier prosecution when in 2011 was illegally demolished the office of the Institute of Peace and Democracy. But, as the French journalist said, they are not the only symbols of the repressive policies of Baku. In a country where anti-Armenian cultivated hatred and calls for closer relations with the Armenians harshly punished, as it happened to Rauf Mirkadirov, who dared to participate in critical debates in Armenia.

But to accuse their opponents of betraying is not the only way to discredit them, writes Bennahmias . In March 2012, the director of Azerbaijani Service Radio Liberty Khadija Ismailova suffered brutal persecution, accompanied by compromising photos and video of an intimate nature and smear campaign of the ruling party.

Reports of organizations such as Index on Censorship, Article 19 or the European Stability Initiative (ESI) criticized the authoritarian regime in Azerbaijan clan that exposes the cruel persecution of their opponents. In a situation in Azerbaijan guilty covering the regime and bought petrodollars European politicians - characters scandals " caviar diplomacy," says the author .

Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe emphasizes that Yunus case " is another example showing the degree of abuse and repression of critical voices in Azerbaijan" and calls on the country to take urgent measures to ensure that the right to freedom of expression , association and assembly were provided.

But we can also regret the fact that the European Council was not firm in his position when Baku was arrested in 2013 public and political figures Anar Mammadli and Ilgar Mamedov. In early May, Azerbaijan will become the chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Council of Europe. "In these circumstances, is it acceptable?" asks the author.

Jean-Luc Bennahmias concludes that the persecution of opponents threatens regional peace and stability as well as allowing the arrest of brave activists working for peace, the international community signed a blank check for the resumption of the conflict, which would be disastrous for the region and the creation of even more chaos at the gates of Europe. -0 -