On Monday 28 November, the Azerbaijani human rights campaigners, Leyla and Arif Yunus, called on the European Union to keep standing firm with their country's authorities.
"The authorities are sensitive to strong language, so it's important to continue with strong language", Leyla Yunus told the European Parliament's sub-committee on human rights. She said that after a Parliamentary resolution calling for the release of political prisoners (see EUROPE 11159), the torture that her husband Arif had been suffering in prison for two years stopped. "When the authorities are confronted with strong reactions like that of the European Parliament, they tend to change their position", she said. Leyla and Arif Yunus were both sentenced for fraud and tax evasion after a trial that was denounced as political. They were released at the end of 2015 (see EUROPE 11450).
Reiterating their country's numerous human rights violations, Leyla and Arif Yunus called on Europeans to take sanctions against those responsible for torture and violence in Azerbaijan. "We can get somewhere by small but efficient steps", like taking "sanctions against specific people" such as police officers who take part in criminal acts or corrupt judges, Leyla stated. "It's only when we're in a strong position that we are respected by the Azerbaijani authorities. In Azerbaijan there are pro-Western clans and pro-Russian clans. If they are disappointed by the European attitude, there will be a strengthening of those who are against Westerners. It's up to you to show the importance of Western values and principles", Arif added.
Leyla also called on the EU not to give Azerbaijan any more money and to stop financing the training of judges who, in her opinion, are all corrupt and are at the beck and call of the authorities. "It's now 30 years that I have been dealing with human rights in my country, and there is not a single independent judge who could benefit from such training", she added. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)