OSCE/ODIHR Director Link welcomes lifting of travel ban for Azerbaijani human rights defenders

WARSAW, 20 April 2016 ─ Michael Georg Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), today welcomed Azerbaijan’s decision to lift travel bans on Leyla and Arif Yunus, two prominent Azerbaijani human rights defenders, who are also spouses.

“It is a humanitarian gesture by the Azerbaijani authorities to allow Leyla and Arif Yunus to leave their country and to receive urgent treatment for their chronic medical conditions,” Director Link said. “I welcome this also as a positive step toward the lifting of similar restrictions to the freedom of movement of other Azerbaijani human rights defenders.”

On 19 April 2016, the Yunuses were allowed by Azerbaijan’s authorities to leave the country and be reunited with their daughter in the Netherlands, where she lives. They have reportedly requested political asylum in the country.

Arif and Leyla Yunus had been prohibited from leaving Azerbaijan following their conditional releases from detention on humanitarian grounds, in November and December 2015, respectively.

“Permitting the Yuneses to leave Azerbaijan follows a positive and welcome trend, established with the release in March 2016 of a number of other human rights defenders by Azerbaijan’s authorities,” Link said. “ODIHR continues to stand ready to engage constructively with the authorities of Azerbaijan on human dimension issues.”