Baku, December 9, 2015 (AFP) – The Azerbaijani Justice released from prison Wednesday rights activist Leyla Yunus Human, commuting his sentence of eight and a half years in prison, suspended sentence, said a journalist from AFP at the trial.
The Baku Court of Appeal sentenced the activist to five years suspended sentence, Ms. Yunus justifying the release from prison of the deterioration of his health. She was sentenced in August to eight and a half years in prison for “fraud” and “tax evasion”.
Her husband, Arif Yunus, was also sentenced to seven years in prison for the same reasons before being released in November because of his poor health. Since he pleaded for the release of his wife, according to his lawyers who suffers from liver necrosis.
Leyla Yunus, director of the Institute for Peace and Democracy, and her husband Arif, renowned political analyst, were arrested in the summer of 2014 for “treason” and “tax evasion” charges that spouses reject. Justice accuses including Leyla Yunus espionage in favor of Armenia and attempt to “propaganda for recognition Nagorno Karabakh regime,” a separatist region that are fighting for decades Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Incarcerated for over a year, she said “she was beaten in his detention center.” The Ministry of Justice had denied the accusations.
The NGOs defending human rights, including Human Rights Watch (HRW), had repeatedly called for the release of this woman who has been campaigning for several years to promote reconciliation between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The NGOs defending human rights regularly denounce the regime of President Ilham Aliyev, including any dispute as soon as it provokes a severe reaction from the authorities of that country’s oil-rich Caucasus.
Ara © armenews.com
