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The president of France François Hollande in the course of his visit to Azerbaijan met with the head of the Musavat party Isa Gambar, the chairman of Azerbaijani Popular Front Party Ali Karimli, the chairman of the Majlis of the Republican Alternative public movement (REAL) Erkin Gadirli, human rights defender and the director of the Institute for Peace and Democracy Leyla Yunus, journalist Khadija Imsayilova, and the director of news agency Turan Mehman Aliyev, the Azerbaijani news portal Minval.az reports citing the press service of Musavat party.

In the course of the visit the prospects of Azerbaijan’s accession to the EU, the settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the problems with democracy, civil society, human rights and independent mass media as well as the situation of political prisoners in Azerbaijan were discussed.

As the Azerbaijani news agency Turan reports, on Monday May 12, after the signing of bilateral agreements, French and Azerbaijani presidents held a press conference in Baku. The independent media representatives were not invited to the conference.

According to the French media, the presidents were asked about the arrest of Azerbaijani journalist Rauf Mirkadirov as well as about the persecutions against human rights defender Leyla Yunus carried out in Azerbaijan. “I’m constantly referring to human rights issues. These issues are among the priorities of France and its people,” Hollande said and added that during the meeting with Aliyev he had raised all those issues.

Note that in the evening of April 28 in the airport of Baku while departing to Doha famous Azerbaijani human rights activist Leyla Yunus and her husband conflictologist Arif Yunus were detained. They intended to fly to Paris, then to Brussels by the invitation of EU to participate in an international event. Leyla Yunus was taken to the Department of Grave Crimes of Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s office for questioning, where she spent 9 hours. Her husband who was detained with her was hospitalized in pre-infarction condition. Search of Yunus’ apartment and IPD office was conducted.

Note that Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe, Nils Muiznieks, U.S. State Department, the U.S. Embassy in Azerbaijan and human rights organizations, such as the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, Human Rights Watch, Freedom House and the International Federation of Human Rights Organizations (FIDH) have condemned the detention of human rights activist Leyla Yunus in Baku.

Earlier in Baku the journalist of Azerbaijani newspaper Zerkalo Rauf Mirkadirov was arrested. He was accused of conducting espionage for Armenia.