Society 19:07 15/05/2014

Le Monde: Leyla Yunus has informed French president about Azerbaijan’s authoritarian and criminal regime

Azerbaijani human rights defender Leyla Yunus came to the French embassy on Monday, May 12, to meet President François Hollande who came to Baku. The meeting took place in the absence of the cameras, according to Turan Azerbaijani news agency, Le Monde French edition reports.

“I said that I’m still at large and not in the prison due to the meeting with him. All my friends are behind the bars. It was important to tell the president that an authoritarian and criminal regime has been created in our country,” the human rights defender said.

According to her, the consequences of Ukrainian crisis are felt in Azerbaijan as well. The fall of the former president of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych was a shock for the ruling elite of Azerbaijan where from 2005 on political action is not allowed. When international attention is concentrated on Ukraine, the repressions against the opposition in Azerbaijan have increased, Yunus noted.

According to the article, on April 15 Leyla Yunus published the list of “130 political prisoners” in the website of the Institute for Peace and Democracy NGO, the head of which she has been since 1995. Four days later, journalist Rauf Mirkadirov was arrested in Baku. He is held in a high security prison, he doesn’t have an access to lawyer, and he will be judged in secretive trial for the “espionage” for Armenia. “They tried to reach me through Mirkadirov,” Yunus said.

Her intuition didn’t disappoint her, Le Monde notes, on April 28 Leyla Yunus was detained in the Baku Airport with her husband Arif Yunus, when they traveled to the conference in Brussels. Their passports were confiscated, their house was searched, bank accounts were frozen, while her husband became stressed and was immediately taken to the hospital.

“The current situation here is worse than in the Soviet times,” Yunus said. According to her, after the departure of the French delegation, she can be detained at any moment. The article as well reads that a year ago in the French embassy in Baku Leyla Yunus was awarded Legion of Honor. At the ceremony one of the diplomats said that she is “canonical opposition”, whose “lonely struggle” for the protection of human rights dates back to 1980s.

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.



Source Panorama.am
Share |
Տեքստում սխալ կամ վրիպակ նկատելու դեպքում, ուղարկեք խմբագրին հաղորդագրություն` նշելով տվյալ սխալը, այնուհետև սեղմելով Ctrl-Enter:

Newsfeed

15:05
NSW MPs call on Australians to boycott COP29
Three members of the New South Wales Parliament have delivered powerful addresses on the floor of the Legislative Assembly to mark the first...
14:32
Archbishop Sahak Mashalyan arrives at Mother See
Archbishop Sahak Mashalyan, Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople, on Friday arrived at the Mother See of Holy Echmiadzin, the Armenian church...
14:04
Artsakh president commemorates 2020 war anniversary
Artsakh President Samvel Shahramanyan on Friday visited the Yerablur Military Pantheon in Yerevan to pay tribute to fallen soldiers on the...
13:30
Alen Simonyan to reportedly attend re-consecration of Echmiadzin cathedral
Armenian National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan will attend the re-consecration ceremony of the Mother Cathedral in Etchmiadzin on Sunday,...
13:03
No decision yet on next stage of Armenian-Azeri border delimitation, official says
No decision has yet been made on the next stage of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border delimitation process, Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Mher...
12:34
Ruben Vardanyan, other Armenian leaders mark one year as political prisoners in Azerbaijan
Today marks the first anniversary of the arbitrary arrest by Azerbaijani authorities of eight Armenian leaders, commencing with the arrest of...
12:15
Ex-defense minister set to become Japan's next PM
After five tries, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba will finally lead the Liberal Democratic Party — and Japan, The Japan Times...
12:03
Pashinyan at UN: Armenian proverb says, 'Let us speak the positive in order to be well'
As part of his working visit to New York, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday delivered a speech at the 79th session...
11:36
Armenian deputy PM acknowledges problems in relations with Russia
Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan acknowledged existing problems in relations with Russia and other countries. "We need...
11:15
Artsakh president pays tribute to fallen soldiers on war anniversary
Artsakh President Samvel Shahramyan on Friday visited the Yrablur Military Pantheon in Yerevan to pay homage to fallen soldiers on the...
11:00
Armenia, Azerbaijan agree to put additional efforts towards signing of peace deal
On September 26, under the initiative and with participation of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat...
17:15
Wheat production in Armenia unprofitable, economy minister says
Wheat production in Armenia is economically unprofitable, Minister of Economy Gevorg Papoyan told reporters outside the Armenian government...
16:46
Martin Scorsese's two film projects postponed
Martin Scorsese, the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind some of cinema’s most iconic works, had planned to begin shooting two highly...
16:34
Yerevan to host Meghraton exhibition and sale of bee products
Meghraton exhibition and sale of honey and other bee products is set to take place at Yerevan's Yeraz Park on September 28-29. The event is...
16:17
Political analyst slams Pashinian's UN speech, photo with Erdogan
Political analyst Suren Surenyants hit out at Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for his speech at the Summit of the Future held on the sidelines of...
15:35
UNICEF and Germany to scale up child protection services for refugee children in Armenia
UNICEF and the German Embassy in Yerevan announced a new contribution of 2,9 million Euros from the German Federal Foreign Office in the...
15:05
New COVID strain cases detected in Russia
Specialists from the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing have recorded two coronavirus...
14:35
Armenian Airlines to launch direct flights between Yerevan, Volgograd
Armenian Airlines will launch direct flights between Yerevan and Volgograd, a city in southwest Russia, starting from 1 December 2024....
14:07
Political analyst says South Caucasus turning into a 'powder keg'
Political analyst Sergei Melkonian, a research fellow at the Applied Policy Research Institute (APRI Armenia), warns that the South Caucasus...
13:45
Today marks Komitas' 155th anniversary
September 26 marks the 155th birth anniversary of Komitas Vardapet, a prominent Armenian composer, priest, musicologist, arranger, singer and...
13:30
Georgia seeks to transform South Caucasus into a region of opportunities, PM says
Georgia has led the effort to transform the South Caucasus into a region of opportunities, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli...
12:55
Pashinyan's wife chats with Turkish first lady in New York
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's spouse, Anna Hakobyan, on Wednesday attended a reception in New York hosted by U.S. First Lady...
12:30
U.S. government announces $20,600,000 support to Armenia
Secretary of State Blinken and USAID Administrator Power spotlight democratic progress in Armenia and announce $20,600,000 from the United...
12:17
Blinken to meet with Armenian, Azeri FMs on Thursday evening
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun...
11:55
The government has decided to remove Mikayel Minasyan's brother from his position as minister, continuing its repressive measures
For three days, members of Armenia's ruling "Civil Contract" faction have been collecting signatures to dismiss Justice Minister...
11:35
Iran warns Israel against 'full-scale war' in Lebanon
Israel's leaders must understand their crimes won't go unpunished, Iran's foreign minister has said on the sidelines of the UN....
11:24
Armenian FM, UN refugee chief meet in New York
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan met with UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi on the sidelines of the 79th...
11:00
Armenia's Emma Poghosyan wins gold at World Junior Weightlifting C'ships
18-year-old Emma Poghosyan has won the first medal for Armenia at the World Junior Weightlifting Championship in Leon, Spain. Competing in...
17:04
Yerevan to host performing arts festival in October
The 22nd HIGH FEST International Performing Arts Festival will be held in Yerevan on 1-8 October. The festival is expected to bring together...
16:45
Forty days from election, Kamala Harris starts courting Armenian American voters
Democratic Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris expressed support for the “right for Armenians displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh to return...

Follow us and get updates!

Most popular articles

{"core.blocks.header.spell_message1":"Selected mistake: ","core.blocks.header.spell_message2":"Send a message about the mistake?"}