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DemocracyAlerts

From time to time, the World Movement for Democracy issues alerts concerning participants and other colleagues who are, or may be, facing personal danger due to their work on behalf of democracy and for whom a vigorous response from around the world may be critical.

To see previous alerts go to www.wmd.org/democracyalerts/democracyAlerts.html.

On January 14, the World Movement secretariat issued a DemocracyAlert on the following case: On December 13, Interior Minister of Azerbaijan, Ramil Usubov, filed a court suit against the director of the Institute of Peace and Democracy (IPD) in Azerbaijan and World Movement participant, Dr. Leyla Yunus, accusing her of damaging the Azerbaijani police’s reputation in an interview, which was posted on the www.day.az news site on December 3, 2008. 

Today, Dr. Yunus notified the World Movement secretariat that on January 23, Judge Shahin Abdullayev infringed her right to a public trial.  According to Dr. Yunus, the judge and officials of the court demanded that attendees leave the courtroom, since there was a lack of seats for those wishing to observe the trial.  Dr. Yunus asserts that a small room of the Nasimi District Court was deliberately chosen and was half-filled with police officers in citizens' clothes.  As a result, of some 70 people (mass media, NGOs, and international observers) who came to see the trial, no more than 20 were able to stay in the courtroom.  The trial itself lasted about 10 minutes before being postponed until January 26, at which time Judge Abdullayev transferred Minister Usubov’s law suit to a different jurisdiction.

In the meantime, several individuals and organizations have sent letters and appeals on Dr. Yunus’ behalf.  On January 19, The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders issued an appeal calling for urgent intervention in Dr. Yunus’ case.   On January 21, Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a statement calling on the Azerbaijani government to withdraw its libel case against Dr. Yunus immediately.  The same day, Svetlana Gannushkina, chairwoman of the Russian organization "Civic Assistance" and board member of the Russian Human Rights Center "Memorial," issued an open letter in defense of Dr. Yunus and calling on concerned organizations to write letters on her behalf.   On January 22, the International Women’s Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific (IWRAW Asia Pacific) called on the Government of Azerbaijan to withdraw the accusations made against Dr. Yunus; to guarantee her physical and psychological integrity;  and to ensure freedom of expression and association for all human rights defenders in Azerbaijan.

Concerned individuals and organizations should send letters to the following offices:

• Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Office of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, 19 Istiqlaliyyat St., Baku AZ1066, Azerbaijan, Fax: +994 12 492 06 25, +994 412 92 28 68, E-mail: office@apparat.gov.az, president@gov.az, root@lider.baku.az
• Prosecutor’s Office, 7 Nigar Rafibeyli St., Baku, Azerbaijan, Fax: +994 12 492 06 82, +994 12 492 26 63, E-mail: prosec@azeri.com
• Minister of Internal Affairs of the Azerbaijani Republic, Lt.-Gen. Ramil Usubov, Fax: + 994 12 492 45 90
• Permanent Mission of Azerbaijan, Rue de Lausanne 67, CH-1202, Genève, Suisse, e-mail : az.mission.unog@iprolink.ch, fax: +4122 901 18 44
• Minister of Justice in Azerbaijan, Prospekt Stroitelej, 1 Baku Azerbaijan, e-mail: contact@justice.gov.az, Tel (99412) 430 01 16, Fax (99412) 430 09 81
• Azerbaijani Embassy in Brussels, Avenue Moliere, 464, 1050 Brussels, Belgium, Tel: +32 2 345 26 60, Fax: +32 2 345 91 85

To read the previous alert, go to: www.wmd.org/democracyalerts/jan1409a.html

To read Dr. Yunus’ January 26 press release (in Russian), go to: www.wmd.org/documents/YunusPressRelease012309Rus.pdf

To read the statement from the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, go to: www.fidh-omct.org/index.php?id=&lang=eng&actualPageNumber=1&articleId=8314&itemAdmin=article

To read the statement from HRW, go to: www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/01/20/azerbaijan-halt-libel-case-against-rights-defender (in English) or www.hrw.org/ru/news/2009/01/21 (in Russian)

To read Ms. Gannushkina’s letter (in Russian), go to: www.wmd.org/documents/Gannushkina0109.pdf