Martin Schulz condemns verdict to Leyla Yunus and Arif Yunus

It is with utter dismay and regret that I have heard about the verdict handed down by the Baku Court to Dr Leyla Yunus and Mr Arif Yunus – reads a statement of Martin Shulz, the head of European Parliament.

“The legal process leading to the verdict which imposes heavy prison sentences on two leading voices in the defence of human rights is utterly unfair, as testified by international monitors, and moreover completely disregards the health conditions of those sentenced.

I therefore call for the immediate release of Dr and Mr Yunus who are in urgent need of medical care, as verified once again today by the European Parliament.

This trial and verdict is unfortunately just one of an outrageous series of crackdowns on the Azeri civil society, including the recent murder of journalist Rasim Aliyev and the criminal proceedings brought against Khadija Ismayilova, an investigative journalist.

Azerbaijan is an important partner of the EU through the Eastern Partnership Programme and its authorities must live up to the partnership's commitments on human rights and democracy. The Azeri authorities are currently scraping the bottom when it comes to developing a modern, pluralist state and, for their own good, should begin to revert the situation immediately”, - reads the statement. -0-