Brussels, 13/05/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 12 May Dinara Yunus, the daughter of Azerbaijani human rights activists Leyla and Arif Yunus, called on Europe and the European institutions to do more to help human rights activists in Azerbaijan. The situation in her country is “very bad” and becoming increasingly worse.
“The EU should be more audible and more critical. It should call publicly for the release of political prisoners”, Yunus told EUROPE. High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and the European Parliament have called for the release of Azerbaijani political prisoners on several occasions. “It's more than time now to be more vocal”, Yunus added. She says that there are over 100 political prisoners in Azerbaijan, free media have been closed and “there has never been freedom of expression”.
“The European Games should speak clearly about the violations and call for the release of political prisoners before the start of the Games - along with the Western governments and European institutions”, Yunus stated. In her view, the European Games, a multisports competition in Baku in June should be the opportunity for action. “There is now a lot of attention [on the country] and it is a good opportunity for political prisoners to be released”, she said. Yunus said she believed this was the “last chance” for her parents to regain their freedom.
In Dinara Yunus' opinion, the EU should also plan more humanitarian efforts because her parents are in bad health and need hospital care, which they are not currently receiving. Leyla Yunus was nominated for the Sakharov Prize 2014, which was won by Congolese gynaecologist Denis Mukwege. While stating that Mukwege deserved the prize, Dinara Yunus said that if her mother had obtained it, it would have brought her more attention and would have secured her release.
Saying that the Azerbaijani government had not met the demands contained in the European Parliament resolution of September 2014 (see EUROPE 11159), Dinara Yunus said she believed Europe should take measures against this government. “There should be a follow up of the resolution” she said. In her view, the Parliament should also put pressure on the European foreign ministers.
Questioned about the fact that the EU seems to focus great attention on political prisoners in Belarus and less on those in Azerbaijan, Yunus said she thought there was a “double standard” with Baku. “Perhaps because of the economic interests”, she added, while saying she was “not a politician”. Yunus stated that while Belarus was not a member of the Council of Europe, this was not the case with Azerbaijan - which should therefore meet its obligations. (Camille-Cerise Gessant)