“The Theodore Hacker Award, that has been given to me for my human rights activity, means that the human rights situation has passed the ‘red line’" said Leyla Yunus in an interview with Objective TV. She said that previously the award has been received by human rights activists from Rwanda, Zambia, Congo and Iran, and now Azerbaijan has been included in the list of unsuccessful countries in the field of human rights.
Previously the regime was characterized as "the occupation and criminal", but now it looks like looting and pillaging, and deliberate humiliation of citizens.
As an example, she mentioned the history of the construction of the Winter Boulevard. In this zone, hundreds of houses in the Fizuli, Shamsi Badalbeyli and Mirzaaga Aliyev streets have been destroyed, including the home of Yunus.
Property owners had not been warned of the demolition, they did not receive the normal compensation, contracts for the sale were signed with private persons by force, and so houses were demolished, despite the presence of tenants in them; previously the electricity, gas and water were cut off. People suffering heart attacks were left to die in the streets, the disgruntled were arrested without receiving a penny of compensation.
Tens of thousands of people are unhappy with the authorities for this injustice, and more people are unhappy with the authorities in the regions (the protests in Guba and Ismailli regions are evidence of this). Many are unhappy about the disregard for the constitutional freedoms of citizens, including freedom of speech, assembly, conscience, and so on. Every year, dozens of soldiers and officers are killed in the army due to lawlessness, and their deaths are written off to snipers in the firing line.
The authorities deliberately do everything to damage the image of Armenia in the eyes of the international community. The president of Armenia refers to the tightening of Azerbaijani legislation and to the lack of a guarantee of civil rights for the citizens of Azerbaijan of Armenian nationality. For example, the case of the novel by Akram Aylisli, "Stone Dreams", could be presented as a manifestation of tolerance, but our government has presented itself as stupid and bloodthirsty.
Leyla Yunus, was recently awarded the ‘Order of the Legion of Honor’ (France). The first time the award has been presented to a human rights activist from Azerbaijan. -17D—
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