On 15 December 2016, the Luxembourg Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Jean Asselborn, had a meeting with Leyla Yunus and her husband Arif Yunus at the St. Maximin hotel.
During their meeting yesterday, Minister Asselborn and Leyla and Arif Yunus exchanged views in the presence of Stan Brabant, the Head of Amnesty International Luxembourg. Together they emphasised the work of the Yunus couple and that of other representatives and organisations from national and international civil societies in improving the situation in Azerbaijan regarding human rights.
Dr. Leyla and Arif Yunus are historians and defenders of human rights in Azerbaijan. On 30 July 2014, the couple were accused of treason, various forms of fraud and spying on behalf of Armenia, and they were arrested before being condemned to 8.5 years, for Leyla, and 7 years, for Arif, imprisonment.
Under pressure from the international community, especially from the Council of Europe, following an international civil awareness campaign, their sentences were suspended, initially to house arrest, and now the couple can freely leave Azerbaijan, but cannot return.
The Yunus couple are currently in Luxembourg as guests of honour at Amnesty’s Human Rights Festival 2016 which has been ongoing since 1 December.
Photo by MAEE. From left to right: Jean Asselborn, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs; Dr Layla Yunus, human rights defender; Arif Yunus, human rights defender
