Azerbaijani court obliges forced delivery of Yunus spouses

Today, in Baku, the court has pronounced the decision on the forced delivery of Leyla and Arif Yunus, who stay abroad. According to an advocate, for the next step, they will be put on the international wanted list. Experts doubt that the Yunus spouses will be extradited to the Azerbaijani law enforcement agencies.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on August 13, 2015, human rights defender Leyla Yunus was sentenced to 8.5 years of imprisonment, and her husband, political analyst Arif Yunus, was sentenced to 7 years of imprisonment. On December 9, 2015, the court of appeal replaced their imprisonment terms with a five-year conditional sentence.

"I have reported that Leyla and Arif Yunus are abroad and receive long-term medical treatment, and I have filed a motion to interrogate them via Skype, Facebook, or WhatsApp. However, the court has dismissed the motion," stated advocate Elchin Sadygov.

According to him, at present, the police will be instructed to establish the whereabouts of the Yunus spouses and bring them to court. "Naturally, this is only a formal step on the way to put the Yunus spouses on the international wanted list," added the advocate.

Oktai Gyulalyev, the leader of the Public Alliance "Azerbaijan without Political Prisoners", treats the court's decision on the compulsory delivery of the Yunus spouses as ridiculous.

"The Yunus spouses are well-known human rights defenders, and they enjoy protection at the level of the UN and the European Union," emphasized Oktai Gyulalyev.

He associates the actions of the law enforcement agencies with the human rights activities of the Yunus spouses.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.