Defence treats the verdict in Yunus case as death sentence

When sentencing Leyla and Arif Yunus, the Baku Court ignored their health status and age. Their imprisonment terms of 8.5 and 7 years are in fact death sentences for them, their advocates assert.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Leyla Yunus, the Director of the Institute of Peace and Democracy (IPD), and her husband Arif Yunus, a political analyst, were accused of economic crimes and treason. Both completely denied their guilt. Today, the Baku Court has sentenced Leyla Yunus to 8.5 years of imprisonment and her husband Arif Yunus to 7 years in prison. According to their advocate, during the announcement of the verdict, the health state of both defendants was very poor.

Apart from the prison terms, the court has ruled to confiscate the Yunus' apartments in Baku and Antalya (Turkey), as well as to withdraw money from their bank accounts in the Czech Republic. The exact procedure of confiscation is unknown yet. The court's verdict "is devoid of legal grounds", Ramiz Mamedov, Leyla's advocate, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The real reason for prosecuting the Yunus is in their political activities aimed to protect the rights of political prisoners, Elchin Gambarov, another advocate of the spouses, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. According to his story, the authorities are afraid of revolution, and treat the non-governmental organizations, operating for money of Western donors, as enemies.

Gambarov has called the terms appointed to Leyla and Arif Yunus "excessively harsh and inhumane."

"This is, in fact, their death penalty. For these sick and elderly persons it is a clear death; and if it happens, the responsibility will fall on those who demanded and passed these long sentences," said Gambarov.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.