Baku / 17.05.17 / Turan: Today in the Baku Court of Appeal (BCA), under the chairmanship of Mirpasha Huseynov, the proceedings on the case of the human rights activist Leila Yunus and her husband, conflict researcher Arif Yunus, continued.
They were arrested in the summer of 2014 as part of a campaign of harassing dozens of local and foreign NGOs. In August 2015 the spouses were sentenced to long terms of imprisonment, accused of committing economic crimes.
After protests by international organizations in December 2015, the real terms of imprisonment were replaced by conditional punishment, and they left the prison. In April 2016, the couple was allowed to go abroad for treatment.
Consideration of the cassation appeal of the spouses by the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan was repeatedly postponed. Finally, on December 27, the Supreme Court returned the case for reconsideration in BCA.
The reconsideration of the case in BCA began on April 19, and at the request of the public prosecutor, the court decided to hold a second trial. The prosecutor also insisted on the personal presence of the couple Yunus.
At today's meeting, the lawyer Elchin Sadigov said the couple is on long-term treatment abroad. He asked for interrogation through Skype or Facebook.
However, the court rejected the petition and decided to have the spouses brought into the court by force, appointing the next meeting at 12:00 on May 31.
The police will be instructed to bring the spouses, and the next step will be their search, said the lawyer, calling the court's decision on their forced bringing an improper one.
He explained that against the couple Yunus there was no appeal or protest and the holding of a second trial is not justified.
The cassation complaint was filed by the spouses Yunus themselves, so aggravating their punishment or worsening their legal status is not permissible, the lawyer said.
"Apparently, the decision of the Supreme Court to return the case to the Court of Appeal deliberately pursued the goal of declaring an international search for them," Sadigov said. -06D-
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