Azerbaijani Rights Activist Yunus 'Deprived Of Lawyer'

By RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service

October 30, 2014

Jailed Azerbaijani human rights activist Leyla Yunus says she has been deprived of her lawyer.

In a letter dated October 29 and sent from the pretrial detention facility in Baku where she is being held, Yunus wrote that her lawyer Cavad Cavadov has been barred from representing her in court.

"This happens right after the meeting in Paris between the French and Azerbaijani presidents, at which Francois Hollande raised concerns regarding my case," Yunus wrote.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met Hollande in Paris on October 27.

Cavadov wrote on Facebook that police had questioned him as a witness in Yunus's case on October 29.

Yunus, 58, is a fierce critic of Azerbaijan's poor rights record. She and her husband, Arif Yunus, 59, were arrested in July and August, respectively, and charged with high treason and other crimes.

The couple says the charges are politically motivated.

Western government and human rights groups have called for the couple's immediate release.