His Excellency, Mr Ilham Aliyev
President of Azerbaijan
The Presidential Palace
Istiglaliyyat street 19
AZ1066
Baku
Azerbaijan
Norwegian Parliament
Date: December 2, 2014
Appeal for immediate protection of human rights defender Leyla Yunus
Mr President,
As members of the Norwegian delegations to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, we share the concerns
expressed by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Nils
Muižnieks, after his recent visit to Azerbaijan, on the deteriorating situation for
human rights defenders in Azerbaijan in general and the health condition for Mrs
Leyla Yunus in particular.
It has been brought to our attention that Mrs Yunus’ health is critical and in need
of urgent attention, and we call on the Azerbaijani authorities to provide
immediate access to necessary health care treatment for Mrs Yunus. We would
like to underline the human rights commitments of the government of Azerbaijan
to provide adequate detention conditions in respect of human dignity.
Mrs Yunus is one of several human rights defenders in Azerbaijan that are
imprisoned on false accusations and without a just judicial process. We denounce
the judicial and administrative harassment of human rights defenders, and we call
on the Azerbaijani authorities to protect those individuals who work and struggle
for democracy and human rights.
It is unacceptable that a member state of the Organization Security and Co-
operation in Europe, the Council of Europe, and the United Nations violate the
key principles of democracy and human rights.
Stortinget
Norwegian Parliament
NO-0026 Oslo
Tel +47 23 31 30 50
www.stortinget.no