State Department: US alarmed Leyla Yunus in detention without access to medical care

Washington on Wednesday expressed alarm over the continued pre-trial detention of rights defender Leyla Yunus in Azerbaijan, without access to necessary medical care, despite her deteriorating health, TURAN's US correspondent reports.

"We are also especially concerned about continued threats to Leyla Yunus’ physical security. detention of a leading human rights defender in Azerbaijan," State Department's spokesperson Jen Psaki said in a press statement.

On humanitarian grounds, Washington urges the Azeri government to "immediately grant Leyla Yunus access to independent medical evaluation and care, security, and improved conditions."

"We also urge the Government of Azerbaijan to respect the rule of law and to release those incarcerated for exercising fundamental freedoms, starting with those with serious medical conditions. This would include Leyla and her husband Arif, whose deteriorating health make their release particularly urgent," reads the statement.

Psaki also emphasized that it is "in Azerbaijan’s interest to ensure that its citizens are afforded the dignity, human rights, and fundamental freedoms to which all citizens are entitled under Azerbaijan’s international obligations." -0-