This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/13/azerbaijan-criticised-for-jailing-activist-couple-leyla-arif-yunus

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Azerbaijan criticised for jailing activist couple Azerbaijan criticised for jailing activist couple
(about 2 hours later)
A court in Azerbaijan has sentenced a prominent rights activist couple to hefty jail terms on charges denounced as politically motivated.A court in Azerbaijan has sentenced a prominent rights activist couple to hefty jail terms on charges denounced as politically motivated.
Related: 'Azerbaijan is turning into a dictatorship – we shouldn't fall for its caviar diplomacy'Related: 'Azerbaijan is turning into a dictatorship – we shouldn't fall for its caviar diplomacy'
Leyla Yunus was given an eight-and-a-half year sentence while her husband, Arif, was jailed for seven years on charges that include fraud and tax evasion, their lawyer said.Leyla Yunus was given an eight-and-a-half year sentence while her husband, Arif, was jailed for seven years on charges that include fraud and tax evasion, their lawyer said.
Lawyer Ramiz Mamedov insisted the couple were innocent and said the trial had failed to provide evidence of any crimes. Lawyer Ramiz Mamedov insisted the couple were innocent and said the trial had failed to provide evidence of any crimes. “The charges of fraud, tax evasion and embezzlement were not proved at the trial,” Mamedov said.
“The charges of fraud, tax evasion and embezzlement were not proved at the trial,” Mamedov said. Rights activists slammed the court’s decision as an attempt by Azerbaijan’s iron-fisted authorities to block the couple’s work on human rights. “These sentences are outrageous and aim purely at sanctioning the legitimate work of the two Azeri human rights defenders,” the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders said in a statement.
Rights activists slammed the court’s decision as an attempt by Azerbaijan’s iron-fisted authorities to block the couple’s work on human rights.
“These sentences are outrageous and aim purely at sanctioning the legitimate work of the two Azeri human rights defenders,” the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders said in a statement.
Arrested last year on suspicion of spying for arch-enemy Armenia, the couple also face treason charges in a separate case.Arrested last year on suspicion of spying for arch-enemy Armenia, the couple also face treason charges in a separate case.
Related: Together a lifetime, Azerbaijan couple now separated in jailRelated: Together a lifetime, Azerbaijan couple now separated in jail
Leyla Yunus, 59, heads one of Azerbaijan’s leading rights groups, the Institute for Peace and Democracy, in the capital Baku.Leyla Yunus, 59, heads one of Azerbaijan’s leading rights groups, the Institute for Peace and Democracy, in the capital Baku.
She has won several international awards for her work, and has teamed up with Armenian activists to urge reconciliation between the two countries, locked in a decades-long conflict over the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region. She has won several international awards for her work, and has teamed up with Armenian activists to urge reconciliation between the two countries, locked in a decades-long conflict over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Lawyers said she was suffering from several serious illnesses, including liver necrosis and “with her health irreversibly deteriorating, she may die in custody”. Lawyers said she was suffering from several serious illnesses, including liver necrosis and “with her health irreversibly deteriorating, she may die in custody”. Her 60-year-old husband suffers from high blood pressure that saw him collapse at least once during the month-long trial.
Her 60-year-old husband suffers from high blood pressure that saw him collapse at least once during the month-long trial. Western governments and human rights groups have expressed concern over their prosecution. Human Rights Watch has denounced their case as a show trial, and Amnesty International says the couple are prisoners of conscience.
Western governments and human rights groups have expressed concern over their prosecution. Dissent in tightly controlled Azerbaijan is often met with a tough government response. Rights groups say the government of the oil-rich ex-Soviet republic has stepped up pressure on opponents since President Ilham Aliyev’s election for a third term in 2013.
Human Rights Watch has denounced their case as a show trial, and Amnesty International says they are prisoners of conscience.
Dissent in tightly-controlled Azerbaijan is often met with a tough government response. Rights groups say the government of the oil-rich ex-Soviet republic has stepped up pressure on opponents since President Ilham Aliyev’s election for a third term in 2013.