Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 9
By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:
Human Rights Watch is not entitled to act as a judge, a prosecutor or a lawyer, Siyavush Novruzov, the deputy executive secretary of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party, Azerbaijani MP, told Trend Oct. 9.
Earlier, Human Rights Watch urged to release the Yunusovs.
Novruzov said that this organization has repeatedly expressed its opinion on this issue and each time it heard that the individuals, whom it urges to release, have been brought to justice for their crimes.
"A long trial was conducted," he said. "Enough facts were revealed in connection with the criminal cases filed against them. The facts show that without working, Leyla and Arif Yunusovs had sufficient funds in banks and real estate abroad through an NGO. This testifies to the fact that the Human Rights Watch and similar organizations made an agreement with Yunusovs and received grants from various institutions by misappropriating them. Moreover, while passing through the territory of the third country, they met with representatives of the Armenian special services and delivered the necessary information and files. Thus, they committed a crime."
"If they are real human rights organizations, let them comment on the current global events," he said. "There are more than one million refugees and internally displaced people in Azerbaijan, whose rights have been violated by the Armenian side. People are killed in Syria, Iraq every day. The inhuman attitude towards refugees is observed in Europe. But Human Rights Watch says nothing!! Are not the rights of these people violated? And by turning a blind eye to all this, this organization does not cease talking about Leyla and Arif Yunusovs."
He said that the above-mentioned shows that the real purpose of Human Rights Watch is not the protection of human rights.
"Leyla and Arif Yunusovs and Human Rights Watch together shared the money," he said.
"They were involved in corruption, espionage. They were spending the money of the Armenian lobby. Seeing that these crimes are revealed, they begin to voice these statements."
Leyla Yunusova was sentenced to eight years and six months in prison with confiscation of property, and Arif Yunusov was sentenced to seven years in prison with confiscation of property Aug. 13 according to the decision of the Baku Court of Grave Crimes.
The court sentence said that both individuals' bank accounts are confiscated, all their property in Azerbaijan, Turkey, and the Czech Republic are confiscated as well, and they aren't allowed to hold any office for two years after the end of their term of imprisonment.
Leyla and Arif Yunusovs will serve their sentences in a general-regime correctional labor facility.
Leyla Yunusova was charged under the articles 274 (high treason), 178.3.2 (fraud (by inflicting major damage)), 192.2.2 (illegal entrepreneurship), 213.2.2 (evasion from a large amount of taxes), 320.1 (forging a certificate or another official document providing rights or exempting from duties, in order to use or sell that document, as well as making for the same purposes or selling forged state awards of Azerbaijan Republic, stamps, seals, forms) and 320.2 (use of deliberately forged documents indicated in the article 320.1 of this Code) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan.
Arif Yunusov was charged under the articles 274 (high treason) and 178.3.2 (fraud) of Azerbaijan's Criminal Code.
A separate lawsuit was filed for both individuals on the criminal case under article 274 (high treason).
The court's decision taken Aug. 13 applies only to criminal proceedings on the fraud, tax evasion, and others cases.
Edited by CN