Leyla Yunus transferred to SIZO of Azerbaijani MNS

In Azerbaijan, rights defender Leyla Yunus has been transferred from the Baku SIZO No. 1 (pre-trial prison) of the Penitentiary Service to the SIZO of the Ministry of National Security (MNS) of Azerbaijan, where her husband Arif Yunus is being kept. This was reported by activist Azad Isazade, a friend of the family Yunus. Advocates claim that they were not notified in advance of the transfer of their client.

Djavad Djavadly, an advocate of Leyla Yunus, has found it difficult to answer the question how to treat the transfer of Leyla Yunus to the MNS SIZO as improvement or deterioration of her detention conditions.

"I intend to visit Leyla Yunus, and then we decide whether to file a complaint against this decision or not," the advocate has told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

It should be noted that Arif Yunus, the husband of Leyla Yunus, is being kept at the MNS SIZO for more than two months already, and, according to the advocates, he never complained of ill-treatment. However, Khalid Bagirov, the advocate of both spouses, has noted that the detention conditions at the MNS SIZO are tougher and telephone conversations with relatives and friends are limited.

Khalid Bagirov has mentioned that the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has already made the decision to consider the complaint of Leyla Yunus as priority.

According to Elchin Bekhbudov, the leader of the Azerbaijani Committee against Torture, although the SIZO of the MNS is known by its tougher detention conditions; however, it still provides better detention conditions in terms of observation of the rights of prisoners and provision of necessities.

The international human rights organization "Human Rights Watch" (HRW) has expressed its concern over the possible extension of Leyla Yunus' arrest that can be pronounced this week.