Arif Yunusov

Last updated
Arif Yunusov
Arif Yunus.jpg
Born (1955-01-12) 12 January 1955 (age 68)
Baku, Azerbaijan
NationalityAzerbaijani
Other namesArif Yunusov
Occupation(s)author, historian, and human rights activist
Organization(s)Institute of Peace and Democracy
Known forcivil society engagement

Arif Yunusov, also known as Arif Yunus [1] (born 12 January 1955), is an Azerbaijani author, historian, and human rights activist. He is the head of the Department of Conflict and Migration of the Institute of Peace and Democracy. Arif Yunusov along with his wife Leyla are supporters of a peaceful resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. On 28 April 2014, Arif Yunusov and his wife Leyla were jailed on charges of extortion and treason for allegedly spying for Armenia. [2] After being detained, Arif Yunusov was sentenced to 7 years in jail; his wife, Leyla Yunus, was sentenced to 8.5 years in jail. Their sentences were suspended 15 months later and the couple was allowed to leave for the Netherlands. [3]

Contents

Life and work

Arif Yunusov was born in Baku, Azerbaijan, on 12 January 1955, to an Azerbaijani father and an Armenian mother. [4] [5] He began his studies at Baku State University and graduated from there in 1981. During his time as a student in Baku State, Arif Yunusov met his future wife Leyla Yunus. [6] Arif Yunusov eventually attained his doctorate in history in 1986. In 1992, working for the Presidential Office of Azerbaijan, he became the Head of Information and Analytical Department and served this position for a year. He became the executive director of the Azeri Independent Information and Analytical Center. Having served his position at Azeri until September 1994, Yunusov eventually became the Chief of Department of Conflictology and Migration Studies of Institute of Peace and Democracy (IPD). [7] The IPD promotes dialogue among intellectuals in both Armenia and Azerbaijan. [8]

Arif Yunusov defends those who suffer from torture and condemns the imprisonment of people for political reasons. [9]

Yunusov has published over 30 books and 190 articles related to Azerbaijani history and Armenian-Azerbaijani relations. [7]

Arif Yunusov along with his wife Leyla are supporters of a peaceful resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. [6] [9] He has taken part in various conferences and seminars for such a solution to the conflict. [7]

Arrest, imprisonment and release

On 28 April 2014, Arif Yunusov and his wife Leyla were detained at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport on their way to Doha, Qatar amid a crackdown on human rights activists and journalists. [10] He and Leyla were then jailed. [11] At times, during various trials, Arif Yunusov has lost consciousness due to his health conditions. [9] He was released due to poor health and was placed under guard and prohibited from leaving Baku. [12] [8]

On 13 August 2015 Arif Yunusov was sentenced to 7 years in jail, and his wife, Leyla, was sentenced to 8.5 years in jail on charges that include fraud and tax evasion. The couple also faced treason charges (allegedly for spying for Armenia) in a separate case, which was later suspended. [13] Western governments and human rights groups expressed concern over their prosecution. Human Rights Watch has denounced their case as a show trial, and Amnesty International declared the couple prisoners of conscience. [14] [15]

The detention of Arif and Leyla Yunus, as well as Rasul Jafarov, has largely been regarded as another step in the state crackdown on civil society in Azerbaijan. [16] The actions of the authorities were harshly condemned by many prominent international human rights organizations, among them Amnesty International (which calls the Yunus "prisoners of conscience" and has called on the authorities to release them immediately), [17] Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, [18] United States Mission to the OSCE, [19] Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, [20] Nobel Women's Initiative, [21] Reporters Without Borders, [22] Human Rights Watch [23] and others.

Human Rights Watch called for the suspension of Azerbaijan's membership from an Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) because of "Azerbaijan government’s offensive against human rights defenders and non-governmental organizations". [24]

Leyla and Arif Yunus were allowed by Azerbaijani government to travel to the Netherlands for health treatment in April 2016, where they remained to reside in. [25]

Personal life

Arif Yunusov is married to Leyla Yunus. They have one daughter. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mehriban Aliyeva</span> Vice President of Azerbaijan since 2017

Mehriban Arif gizi Aliyeva is an Azerbaijani politician and physician who is the vice president and First Lady of Azerbaijan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human rights in Azerbaijan</span> Overview of human rights in Azerbaijan

International organizations have frequently alleged that Azerbaijan has violated human rights standards established in international law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT rights in Azerbaijan</span>

LGBT people in Azerbaijan face significant challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal in Azerbaijan since 1 September 2000. Nonetheless, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity are not banned in the country and same-sex marriage is not recognized.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eynulla Fatullayev</span> Azerbaijani journalist

Eynulla Emin oglu Fatullayev is an Azerbaijani journalist and editor-in-chief of the independent Russian-language weekly Realny Azerbaijan and Azerbaijani-language daily Gündəlik Azərbaycan newspapers. He was imprisoned for four years in Azerbaijan for his criticism of government's policies and for his comments on the Khojaly massacre. His sentence was condemned by Reporters Without Borders, International PEN, and the Committee to Protect Journalists, and Amnesty International named him a prisoner of conscience and 2011 "priority case."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ilham Aliyev</span> President of Azerbaijan since 2003

Ilham Heydar oghlu Aliyev is an Azerbaijani politician serving as the fourth president of Azerbaijan since 31 October 2003. He is a former prime minister of Azerbaijan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramil Usubov</span>

Ramil Idris oglu Usubov is the incumbent Secretary of the Security Council of Azerbaijan. Before he served as the Minister of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan, in office from 1994–2019.

The 2011 Azerbaijani protests were a series of demonstrations held to protest the government of President Ilham Aliyev. Common themes espoused by demonstrators, many of whom were affiliated with Müsavat and the Popular Front Party, the main opposition parties in Azerbaijan, included doubts as to the legitimacy of the 2008 presidential election, desire for the release of political prisoners, calls for democratic reforms, and demands that Aliyev and his government resign from power. Azerbaijani authorities responded with a security crackdown, dispersing protests and curtailing attempts to gather with force and numerous arrests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bakhtiyar Hajiyev</span> Azerbaijani activist and blogger (born 1982)

Bakhtiyar Ilyas oglu Hajiyev is an Azerbaijani activist and blogger who served a prison sentence from 2011 to 2012 on charges of evading military service. His imprisonment was protested by numerous human rights organizations.

Hilal Mammadov is an Azerbaijani journalist and human rights activist. He is the chief editor of the Baku-based newspaper "Tolyshi sado", the only newspaper in Azerbaijan printed in the minority Talysh language. After Novruzali Mammadov died in custody, Hilal Mamedov became a second community leader for the Talysh people. He is also known as the author of the meykhana video Ty kto takoy? Davay, do svidaniya! which became an Internet meme both in Azerbaijan and Post-Soviet states.

Ogtay Gulaliyev is an Azerbaijani human rights activist. His organization, Kur Civic Society, provides assistance for people affected by environmental disasters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khadija Ismayilova</span> Azerbaijani investigative journalist and radio host

Khadija Rovshan qizi Ismayilova, also Ismailova, is an Azerbaijani investigative journalist and radio host who is currently working for the Azerbaijani service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, until recently as the host of the daily debate show İşdən Sonra. She is a member of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.

Most Azerbaijanis receive their information from mainstream television, which is unswervingly pro-government and under strict government control. According to a 2012 report of the NGO "Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS)" Azerbaijani citizens are unable to access objective and reliable news on human rights issues relevant to Azerbaijan and the population is under-informed about matters of public interest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leyla Yunus</span> Azerbaijani activist (born 1955)

Leyla Islam qizi Yunusova, better known as Leyla Yunus, is an Azerbaijani human rights activist who serves as the director of Institute of Peace and Democracy, a human rights organisation. She is particularly known for her work helping citizens affected by forced evictions in Baku, on whose behalf she organized several small protests. In July 2014, the Azerbaijani authorities jailed Yunus under allegations of fraud and tax evasion, which are charges widely regarded as dubious. After being sentenced to 8.5 years in jail on 13 August 2015, Leyla Yunus was released on grounds of her deteriorating health on 9 December 2015, with a court converting her sentence into a suspended one.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rasul Jafarov</span> Azerbaijani lawyer and activist

Rasul Jafarov is a lawyer and prominent human rights defender in Azerbaijan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intiqam Aliyev</span>

Intiqam Kamil oglu Aliyev is an Azerbaijani lawyer and human rights activist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rauf Mirgadirov</span> Azerbaijani journalist

Rauf Habibulla oghlu Mirgadirov is an Azerbaijani columnist and journalist. He has worked for the Baku based Russian-language newspaper Zerkalo. A believer in "citizen diplomacy" between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Mirgadirov was arrested for allegedly spying for Armenia and has been detained since April 2014. In December 2015, he was found guilty and sentenced to six years of prison. Following an appeal of his case, the ruling was upheld in March 2016, but Mirgadirov was released on suspended sentence.

The 709 Crackdown was a nationwide crackdown on Chinese lawyers and human rights activists instigated during the summer of 2015. It is known as the "709 crackdown" as it started on 9 July 2015.

The Gugark pogrom was a pogrom directed against the Azerbaijani minority of the Gugark District in the Armenian SSR, then part of the Soviet Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tartar Case</span> Large scale torture in Azerbaijan

The Tartar Case is a case of large scale torture that took place in Azerbaijan, dealing with Azerbaijani military personnel accused of treason in 2017 in the aftermath of the Nagorno-Karabakh war in April 2016. According to the authorities and human rights defenders, more than 400 people were subjected to torture in the course of the case. The Azerbaijani authorities claim one person was killed as a result, while human rights defenders say the number is about 13, and many were wrongfully convicted and given hefty prison sentences.

References

  1. ↑ Quote: <...>my surname is being written as Yunus without asking, even though I'm still Yunusov according to my passport. Original: Russian : <...> мою фамилию не спрося стали везде писать Юнус, хотя по паспорту я до сих пор Юнусов
  2. ↑ Mukhtarli, Afgan (1 August 2014). "Top Azeri Rights Defender Held on Treason Charge". Institute for War & Peace Reporting.
  3. ↑ "Azerbaijani Court Orders Forcible Return Of Activists Leyla, Arif Yunus". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 2017-05-17. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  4. ↑ Eynulla Fatullayev. Секретное досье Лейлы и Арифа Юнусовых (фотофакты) Часть первая. Haqqin.az. 7 May 2014.
  5. ↑ Thomas De Waal. A Free-thinker Loses His Freedom in Azerbaijan. carnegieendowment,org. 9 January 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 Sindelar, Daisy (28 August 2014). "Together a lifetime, Azerbaijan couple now separated in jail". Guardian.
  7. 1 2 3 "CV: Arif S. Yunusov Doctor of History" (PDF). Osteuropa-Institut. Freien Universität Berlin.[ permanent dead link ]
  8. 1 2 "Azerbaijan: Leading Rights Defender Arrested". Human Rights Watch. 5 August 2014.
  9. 1 2 3 "Azerbaijan: Front Line Defenders Condemns the Sentencing of Leyla Yunus and Araf Yunus". Association for Women's Rights in Development. 18 August 2015. Archived from the original on 8 September 2015.
  10. ↑ "Azerbaijan's Leyla Yunus, human rights defender, held". BBC News. 29 April 2014.
  11. ↑ "Leyla Yunus's Husband Arrested In Azerbaijan". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 5 August 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  12. ↑ "Call for the immediate and unconditional release of Leyla Yunus, Arif Yunusov and Rasul Jafarov". Index on Censorship. 6 August 2014.
  13. ↑ Azerbaijan: Interpol must prevent misuse of alerts against Leyla and Arif Yunus. 13 June 2017.
  14. ↑ "Azerbaijan criticised for jailing activist couple". Guardian. 13 August 2015.
  15. ↑ "Groups Assail Sentencing of Azeri Rights Activist". Voice of America. 13 August 2015.
  16. ↑ Valle, MJ del (15 August 2014). "Azerbaijan detains prominent human rights activists in fresh crackdown". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  17. ↑ Document - Azerbaijan: Leyla Yunus in failing health in prison
  18. ↑ "PACE: News". coe.int. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  19. ↑ "United States Mission to the OSCE. Ongoing Detentions and Arrests of Peaceful Activists in Azerbaijan" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-10-21. Retrieved 2017-06-24.
  20. ↑ "Azerbaijan: Prominent human rights defender Leyla Yunus, IPD Director and a member of OMCT General Assembly, sentenced to three months pre-trial detention". omct.org. Archived from the original on 3 October 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  21. ↑ "Nobel Women: Release human rights activist Leyla Yunus". nobelwomensinitiative.org. Archived from the original on 29 August 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  22. ↑ "Repression unleashed against information freedom defenders - Reporters Without Borders". rsf.org. Archived from the original on 20 August 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  23. ↑ "Azerbaijan: Leading Rights Defender Arrested". Human Rights Watch. 5 August 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  24. ↑ "Azerbaijan: Transparency Group Should Suspend Membership". Human Rights Watch. 14 August 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  25. ↑ "Azerbaijani Court Orders Forcible Return Of Activists Leyla, Arif Yunus". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 2017-05-17. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.