International human rights organizations demand release of Leyla Yunus arrested in Azerbaijan

As proclaimed by a number of international human rights organizations and Azerbaijani oppositionists, Leyla Yunus, the Director of the Azerbaijani Institute for Peace and Democracy (IPD) is one of the independent voices of the country, where authorities try to silence her through arrest and prosecution. Rights defenders indicate the political nature of the persecution of Leyla Yunus and her husband and demand her release from custody.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Leyla and Arif Yunus were charged with a number of crimes, including treason.

One of the first to react to the arrest of Leyla Yunus was the Amnesty International (AI), which has treated the arrest as "a new evidence of a grave situation with human rights in this country."

The AI's statement notes that despite the commitment of the country – a member of the Council of Europe, and, moreover, during its presidency in the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, Azerbaijan continues harassing rights defenders.

Another international organization – the Human Rights Watch – has stated that the Azerbaijani authorities shall immediately release the human rights activist and relieve her and her husband of politically motivated charges.

In her turn, Bakhar Muradova, the vice-speaker of the Azerbaijani parliament and the deputy executive secretary of the ruling party "Yeni Azerbaijan", believes that the arrest of Leyla Yunus "should not be turned into a sensation." She is confident that those who do it are pursuing their own political interests.