Arif Yunus

Arif Yunus
Born (1955-01-12) 12 January 1955
Baku, Azerbaijan
Nationality Azerbaijani
Other names Arif Yunusov
Occupation author, historian, and human rights activist
Organization Institute of Peace and Democracy
Known for civil society engagement

Arif Yunus (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. After being detained, Arif Yunus was sentenced to 7 years in jail; his wife, Leyla Yunus, was sentenced to 8.5 years in jail on charges that include fraud and tax evasion.

Life and work

Arif Yunus was born in Baku, Azerbaijan, on 12 January 1955, to an Azeri father and an Armenian mother.[1][2] He began his studies at Baku State University and graduated from there in 1981. During his time as a student in Baku State, Arif Yunus met his future wife Leyla Yunus.[3] Arif Yunus 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, Yunus eventually became the Chief of Department of Conflictology and Migration Studies of Institute of Peace and Democracy (IPD).[4] The IPD promotes dialogue among intellectuals in both Armenia and Azerbaijan.[5]

Arif Yunus defends those who suffer from torture and condemns the imprisonment of people for political reasons.[6]

Yunus has published over 30 books and 190 articles related to Azerbaijani history and Armenian-Azerbaijani relations.[4]

Arif Yunus along with his wife Leyla are supporters of a peaceful resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.[3][6] He has taken part in various conferences and seminars for such a solution to the conflict.[4]

Arrest and imprisonment

On 28 April 2014, Arif Yunus and his wife Leyla were detained at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport on their way to Doha, Qatar for allegedly spying for Armenia.[7] He and Leyla were then jailed.[8] Arif Yunus was released due to poor health and was placed under guard and prohibited from leaving Baku.[9][5]

Arif Yunus was then detained and placed under detention on 5 August 2014. He has remained in detention since.[10] At times, during various trials, Arif Yunus has lost consciousness due to his health conditions.[6]

On 13 August 2015 Arif Yunus 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 face treason charges in a separate case. 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.[11][12]

International condemnation

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.[13] The actions of the authorities have been 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),[14] Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe,[15] United States Mission to the OSCE,[16] Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders,[17] Nobel Women's Initiative,[18] Reporters Without Borders,[19] Human Rights Watch[20] and others.

Human Rights Watch has 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".[21]

Personal life

Arif Yunus is married to Leyla Yunus. They have one daughter named Dinara.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Eynulla Fatullayev. Секретное досье Лейлы и Арифа Юнусовых (фотофакты) Часть первая. Haqqin.az. 7 May 2014.
  2. ↑ Thomas De Waal. A Free-thinker Loses His Freedom in Azerbaijan. carnegieendowment,org. 9 January 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Sindelar, Daisy (28 August 2014). "Together a lifetime, Azerbaijan couple now separated in jail". Guardian.
  4. 1 2 3 "CV: Arif S. Yunusov Doctor of History" (PDF). Osteuropa-Institut. Freien Universität Berlin.
  5. 1 2 "Azerbaijan: Leading Rights Defender Arrested". Human Rights Watch. 5 August 2014.
  6. 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.
  7. ↑ "Azerbaijan's Leyla Yunus, human rights defender, held". BBC News. 29 April 2014.
  8. ↑ "Leyla Yunus's Husband Arrested In Azerbaijan". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 5 August 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  9. ↑ "Call for the immediate and unconditional release of Leyla Yunus, Arif Yunus and Rasul Jafarov". Index on Censorship. 6 August 2014.
  10. ↑ "Leyla Yunus". European Stability Initiative.
  11. ↑ "Azerbaijan criticised for jailing activist couple". Guardian. 13 August 2015.
  12. ↑ "Groups Assail Sentencing of Azeri Rights Activist". Voice of America. 13 August 2015.
  13. ↑ "Azerbaijan detains prominent human rights activists in fresh crackdown". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  14. ↑ Document - Azerbaijan: Leyla Yunus in failing health in prison
  15. ↑ "PACE: News". coe.int. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  16. ↑ United States Mission to the OSCE. Ongoing Detentions and Arrests of Peaceful Activists in Azerbaijan
  17. ↑ "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. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  18. ↑ "Nobel Women: Release human rights activist Leyla Yunus". nobelwomensinitiative.org. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  19. ↑ "Repression unleashed against information freedom defenders - Reporters Without Borders". rsf.org. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  20. ↑ "Azerbaijan: Leading Rights Defender Arrested". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  21. ↑ "Azerbaijan: Transparency Group Should Suspend Membership". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
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