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Azerbaijani political analyst, historian and Institute for Peace and Democracy member Arif Yunus was released from jail after being required to sign a document that bars him from leaving Baku. He said he would struggle for his wife Leyla Yunus’ release, Azerbaijani service of RFE/RL reports.
“Still, even if Leyla is released now, her health is so deteriorated that she will need at least three years to recover it,” Yunus told RFE/RL.

Turan news agency reports that Ramiz Mammadov, the couple’s lawyer, said the defence demands a similar decision for Leyla Yunus. He noted that Arif’s release was conditioned by his high arterial pressure (224/120).

The lawyer also informed the journalists that a forensic examination was appointed for Leyla Yunus, which will ascertain her awful plight. Her release, however, was not found necessary or appropriate. Nevertheless, he was also optimistic about Leyla Yunus’ release.

Arif Yunus told the journalists that he had offered that his wife be released, and he remain to serve his term in jail instead. However, the authorities want to keep the verdict in force and send Leyla to the women’s jail. “Imprisoning a woman, who suffers seriously from hepatitis C, diabetes and eye diseases, and has undergone six surgeries, means killing her,” he said.

Report.az writes that Arif Yunus said his close relatives had betrayed him. “They did not even bring me food in jail. Azad Isazade, who is not my relative, brought food for me,” Yunus said.
The agency also reports that the head of the EU delegation to Azerbaijan, Malena Mard, welcomed Arif Yunus’ transfer. “It is a positive humanitarian gesture. I hope it will be followed by further steps. In total, the EU is ready to further deepen and broaden its cooperation with Azerbaijan,” Mard said.

Isabel Santos, the Chair of the Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions of the OSCE, also welcomed Yunus’ release. In a statement , Santos calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to release Arif’s wife Leyla, too. “Unfortunately, despite today’s release, the list of human rights defenders and government critics who have been made political prisoners in Azerbaijan remains long. Much more must be urgently done to bring human rights and rule of law back to the country,” Santos said.

Another statement over the peace activist and historian Arif Yunus’ transfer was issued by the US Department of State. According to the statement , the US views his transfer from prison to house arrest on humanitarian grounds as a positive step.

“We hope the Azerbaijani government will give similar consideration to other prisoners reportedly facing severe health challenges,” the statement reads.

On 12 November, Baku Court of Appeals made a decision to release Arif Yunus, one of the best-known political prisoners in Azerbaijan, from jail. His arrest was changed with a signature for not leaving the country. A letter from the Main Medical Department of the Justice Ministry about the aggravation of Arif Yunus’ health served a ground for the court decision. The Justice Ministry reportedly referenced the German doctor Christian Witt’s conclusions, who has long been watching over Arif and Leyla Yunus’ health. Arif Yunus told the court he had declared a hunger strike since 6 November and does not take medicine because his ill wife Leyla Yunus did not receive the necessary medical aid.

On 13 August 2015, Baku Court of Grave Crimes brought in a verdict against the Azerbaijani human rights defenders Leyla and Arif Yunus, sentencing them to 8.5 years and 7 years’ imprisonment respectively. In 2014, Francois Hollande, the French President, met Leyla Yunus in Baku and awarded her with the Order of the Legion of Honour. Later, on 30 July 2014, Yunus was arrested in the yard of her house. She was charged with high treason, tax evasion, illegal entrepreneurship, forgery and large-scale fraud. In January, media reported that the German doctor Christian Vitt confirmed that the arrested human rights defender suffered from a serious disease. However, in February 2015, Azerbaijani Nasimi District Court extended Leyla Yunus’ pretrial detention for five months. He husband, Arif Yunusov, also faces charges of high treason and large-scale fraud. In February 2015, Nasimi Court extencded his pre-trial detention to 5 August 2015.

In April 2015, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Nils Muižnieks, published his written observations submitted to the European Court of Human Rights on the case of Leyla and Arif Yunus. “The case of Leyla and Arif Yunus illustrates the pattern of repression that has emerged in Azerbaijan in recent years whereby human rights defenders are harassed through restrictive NGO legislation and selectively targeted with criminal prosecutions on charges that defy credibility,” his statement said.