Leyla and Arif Yunus Leave for Netherlands

In the early morning of April 19 the human rights defenders Leyla and Arif Yunus arrived in the Netherlands. "They are now with their daughter Dinara. They're here to relax after a long and difficult struggle for human rights," the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands Bert Koenders said.

According to him, the Yunus family deserves "unconditional" support of the international community. "Leyla and Arif diced their own well-being and security for the sake of the struggle for democracy and human rights. They fought to improve the situation in Azerbaijan and it is wonderful. At home, these people led a miserable existence. Well, now they can relax after their long struggle to improve the human rights situation in Azerbaijan," he said.

The Netherlands, the EU and other countries have made efforts to release the Yunus family after their arrest in the summer of 2014.

"The fate of the Yunus family shows that the international community must exert pressure to achieve justice. Quiet diplomacy certainly gives the result," Koenders said, calling the decision of Azerbaijan a positive humanitarian gesture.

He hopes that this measure will improve the situation of human rights in Azerbaijan. "We continue to urge Azerbaijan to continue this process," he said.

Recall that 60-year-old Leyla and Arif Yunus suffer from serious diseases, which worsened during the period of their imprisonment. For months, the authorities refused to release them abroad for treatment, citing the presence of a criminal case against them.

After spending nearly two years in prison, Arif and Leyla Yunus were released on probation.   -0-