International human rights organizations condemn the pressure on L.Yunus

International human rights organizations are deeply concerned about reports on pressure on Leyla Yunus, the Director of the Institute for Peace and Democracy (IPD) and her husband, an expert Arif Yunus.

In particular, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee condemns detention of L.Yunus at Baku airport and expresses deep concern about her possible arrest. "Leyla and Arif were going to the conference in Brussels. Nothing could prevent their departure: they are not suspects, not witnesses in any criminal case. They were not even called in for questioning," said Richelieu Denber, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Europe and Central Asia.

The statement says that IPD was the organizer of some programs, in which a journalist Rauf Mirkadyrov, arrested earlier on charges of treason, was involved.  At the same time he reminded that more than 20 years Yunus dedicated to the building bridges between the civil societies of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Denber noted that there are about 30 civil society activists, journalists, opposition members  in Azerbaijan arrested for political motives, and Mirkadirov and Leila Yunus  often criticized it.

"After 10 days, the French President , Francois Hollande will pay an official visit to Baku. Azerbaijani government attaches great importance to this visit. This coincides with the beginning of Azerbaijan's chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. I hope that Holland will insist on meeting with Leila and clearly will understand Azerbaijani counterpart that freedom Yunus and Mirkadirov are very important for French-Azerbaijani relations," reads the statement of Human Rights Watch.

Yunus was awarded the French prize "Chevalier of the Legion of Honor of France."—06В—