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Azerbaijan family of Margaret Thatcher's one-time interpreter plead
for her release
Relatives of Leyla Yunus, who once worked as an interpreter for
Margaret Thatcher, urge BP and British Government to act over her
arrest and alleged abuse
Leyla Yunus, right, with Margaret Thatcher during the latter's visit
to Azerbaijan in September 1992
By Tom Parfitt, Moscow
8:00AM BST 05 Oct 2014
The family of a woman who once acted as a personal interpreter for
Margaret Thatcher are calling on the oil company BP and the British
Government to intervene and secure her release from jail in
Azerbaijan.
Leyla Yunus, 58, a leading human rights campaigner, was arrested in
July on what are widely seen as trumped up charges of treason and
fraud. Her husband, Arif, 59, an academic, was thrown behind bars a
few days later.
"Leyla has been beaten and dragged by her hair by a prison guard and
she is being subjected to constant psychological abuse," Ramis Yunus,
her brother-in-law, told The Telegraph.
"I urge BP and the British Government to speak out and pressure the
government of Azerbaijan into releasing all political prisoners,
including Leyla and my brother," he added.
Mr Yunus said he was disappointed that European governments were
"closing their eyes" to the plight of his relatives. "I'm sure that
Margaret Thatcher would have condemned the arrest of Leyla and Arif
Yunus, whom she knew personally, and she would have found both
political and economic means to pressure the government of Azerbaijan
to let them go."
Mrs Yunus and her husband were jailed in revenge for her publishing a
list of political prisoners, now numbering 98, and organising a peace
initiative with Azerbaijan's neighbour and traditional foe, Armenia,
according to their relatives and colleagues.
She was also targeted for helping families whose homes were destroyed
to make way for buildings for the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest in
Baku, the capital.
Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan's hardline president, stands accused of
launching an unprecedented crackdown on dissent that has intensified
since the beginning of this year, jailing dozens of rights
campaigners, lawyers and journalists.
Human Rights Watch describes the charges against Mr and Mrs Yunus as
"completely bogus, and intended to silence them". The Azerbaijan
government denies the charges are politically motivated.
Mrs Yunus is a former deputy defence minister and skilled linguist who
met Lady Thatcher when she visited Baku in 1992.
Lady Thatcher, who had resigned as Prime Minister two years earlier,
travelled to newly-independent Azerbaijan to hand the Azeris two
cheques worth $30m on behalf of BP that was a down payment on Caspian
oilfields. That agreement paved the way for the "Contract of the
Century" signed in 1994, which saw BP take the lead in a consortium
extracting hydrocarbons from the seabed.
During Lady Thatcher's visit, Mrs Yunus was given the role of
escorting her, helping translate and explaining the war that was then
raging between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh. "They were
both strong women and they got on well," said her brother-in-law.
Leyla and Arif Yunus in 2013
Mrs Yunus, who is now being held in a pretrial detention centre, has
diabetes, hepatitis and eye problems that her family believe could be
exacerbated in custody. Her lawyers say she has been subjected to
verbal and physical abuse by a senior guard and a fellow inmate in her
cell.
Arif Yunus, who suffered a stroke earlier this year, is in detention
at a facility run by the national security ministry, which is
notorious for torture of inmates.
Analysts believe Mr Aliyev is using the West's distraction by events
in Ukraine and the Middle East to liquidate all opposition ahead of
the inaugural European Games in Baku next year, which will be
sponsored by BP.
Ramis Yunus, a former chief of staff of the Azeri government who lives
in Baltimore in the United States, said BP should confront Mr Aliyev
and withdraw its sponsorship from the Games. "This event is being used
by the regime to improve its image and cover up its repression," he
said.
Dinara Yunus, 29, the daughter of Leyla and Arif Yunus, fled
Azerbaijan for Holland in 2009 after her parents received threats that
she would be harmed.
Speaking by telephone from Amsterdam, she said: "Are economic
interests more important than human rights? By telling the government
of Azerbaijan to do something about political prisoners, BP could
raise its image and be more ethical.
"BP should call for the immediate and unconditional release of the
political prisoners, including my parents. BP is powerful enough to
set these rules."
The campaign against dissent in Azerbaijan peaked this summer. In the
most prominent cases, Rasul Jafarov, a young rights activist, was
arrested on tax evasion charges on August 2, and Intigam Aliyev, a
veteran lawyer who had filed complaints about election fraud to the
European Court of Human Rights, was detained on similar charges a few
days later.
Later the same month, Ilgar Nasibov, a journalist in the Nakhichevan
region, was left unconscious with his face beaten to a bloody pulp,
after an attack by unknown assailants. He had investigated a
controversial case involving a death in custody.
In a statement to The Telegraph, BP said that it had "a strong and
long-standing commitment to respecting the human rights and dignity of
all people, wherever we do business".
However, the company said it believed "the government of Azerbaijan
has the primary responsibility to protect human rights and we remain
ready to implement their guidance in this regard".
It declined to comment on whether it would withdraw sponsorship of the
European Games.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/azerbaijan/11140678/Azerbaijan-family-of-Margaret-Thatchers-one-time-interpreter-plead-for-her-release.html
for her release
Relatives of Leyla Yunus, who once worked as an interpreter for
Margaret Thatcher, urge BP and British Government to act over her
arrest and alleged abuse
Leyla Yunus, right, with Margaret Thatcher during the latter's visit
to Azerbaijan in September 1992
By Tom Parfitt, Moscow
8:00AM BST 05 Oct 2014
The family of a woman who once acted as a personal interpreter for
Margaret Thatcher are calling on the oil company BP and the British
Government to intervene and secure her release from jail in
Azerbaijan.
Leyla Yunus, 58, a leading human rights campaigner, was arrested in
July on what are widely seen as trumped up charges of treason and
fraud. Her husband, Arif, 59, an academic, was thrown behind bars a
few days later.
"Leyla has been beaten and dragged by her hair by a prison guard and
she is being subjected to constant psychological abuse," Ramis Yunus,
her brother-in-law, told The Telegraph.
"I urge BP and the British Government to speak out and pressure the
government of Azerbaijan into releasing all political prisoners,
including Leyla and my brother," he added.
Mr Yunus said he was disappointed that European governments were
"closing their eyes" to the plight of his relatives. "I'm sure that
Margaret Thatcher would have condemned the arrest of Leyla and Arif
Yunus, whom she knew personally, and she would have found both
political and economic means to pressure the government of Azerbaijan
to let them go."
Mrs Yunus and her husband were jailed in revenge for her publishing a
list of political prisoners, now numbering 98, and organising a peace
initiative with Azerbaijan's neighbour and traditional foe, Armenia,
according to their relatives and colleagues.
She was also targeted for helping families whose homes were destroyed
to make way for buildings for the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest in
Baku, the capital.
Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan's hardline president, stands accused of
launching an unprecedented crackdown on dissent that has intensified
since the beginning of this year, jailing dozens of rights
campaigners, lawyers and journalists.
Human Rights Watch describes the charges against Mr and Mrs Yunus as
"completely bogus, and intended to silence them". The Azerbaijan
government denies the charges are politically motivated.
Mrs Yunus is a former deputy defence minister and skilled linguist who
met Lady Thatcher when she visited Baku in 1992.
Lady Thatcher, who had resigned as Prime Minister two years earlier,
travelled to newly-independent Azerbaijan to hand the Azeris two
cheques worth $30m on behalf of BP that was a down payment on Caspian
oilfields. That agreement paved the way for the "Contract of the
Century" signed in 1994, which saw BP take the lead in a consortium
extracting hydrocarbons from the seabed.
During Lady Thatcher's visit, Mrs Yunus was given the role of
escorting her, helping translate and explaining the war that was then
raging between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh. "They were
both strong women and they got on well," said her brother-in-law.
Leyla and Arif Yunus in 2013
Mrs Yunus, who is now being held in a pretrial detention centre, has
diabetes, hepatitis and eye problems that her family believe could be
exacerbated in custody. Her lawyers say she has been subjected to
verbal and physical abuse by a senior guard and a fellow inmate in her
cell.
Arif Yunus, who suffered a stroke earlier this year, is in detention
at a facility run by the national security ministry, which is
notorious for torture of inmates.
Analysts believe Mr Aliyev is using the West's distraction by events
in Ukraine and the Middle East to liquidate all opposition ahead of
the inaugural European Games in Baku next year, which will be
sponsored by BP.
Ramis Yunus, a former chief of staff of the Azeri government who lives
in Baltimore in the United States, said BP should confront Mr Aliyev
and withdraw its sponsorship from the Games. "This event is being used
by the regime to improve its image and cover up its repression," he
said.
Dinara Yunus, 29, the daughter of Leyla and Arif Yunus, fled
Azerbaijan for Holland in 2009 after her parents received threats that
she would be harmed.
Speaking by telephone from Amsterdam, she said: "Are economic
interests more important than human rights? By telling the government
of Azerbaijan to do something about political prisoners, BP could
raise its image and be more ethical.
"BP should call for the immediate and unconditional release of the
political prisoners, including my parents. BP is powerful enough to
set these rules."
The campaign against dissent in Azerbaijan peaked this summer. In the
most prominent cases, Rasul Jafarov, a young rights activist, was
arrested on tax evasion charges on August 2, and Intigam Aliyev, a
veteran lawyer who had filed complaints about election fraud to the
European Court of Human Rights, was detained on similar charges a few
days later.
Later the same month, Ilgar Nasibov, a journalist in the Nakhichevan
region, was left unconscious with his face beaten to a bloody pulp,
after an attack by unknown assailants. He had investigated a
controversial case involving a death in custody.
In a statement to The Telegraph, BP said that it had "a strong and
long-standing commitment to respecting the human rights and dignity of
all people, wherever we do business".
However, the company said it believed "the government of Azerbaijan
has the primary responsibility to protect human rights and we remain
ready to implement their guidance in this regard".
It declined to comment on whether it would withdraw sponsorship of the
European Games.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/azerbaijan/11140678/Azerbaijan-family-of-Margaret-Thatchers-one-time-interpreter-plead-for-her-release.html