The letter to the Azerbaijani minister of internal affairs:
The Norwegian Helsinki Committee and the Human Rights House Foundation have learnt about the libel case the Ministry of Interior has brought against the internationally renowned Human Rights defender Leyla Yunus, and we want to express our protest against the case brought against her. Leyla Yunus is the Director of the human rights organisation Institute for Peace and Democracy who has been vocal about what she rightfully has stated as violations against human rights in the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The complaint brought against Leyla Yunus is based on the statements published on the web-page Day.az on December 3, 2008 concerning the investigation and trial against several men charged with kidnapping of two underage sisters. Leila Yunus monitored the trial in her capacity as a human rights defender.
The investigation and trial against the men has raised several serious questions, as one of the accused informed that the two girls had been handed over to an officer of a local police department for trafficking. The accused had also given information that he had been tortured to withhold this information. Despite the revelation of this information at the trial calls for questioning the police mentioned in the testimony were in the beginning denied by the judge of the trial.
In the interview published by Day.az Leyla Yunus quoted these observations from the court and commented on them amongst other by reminding of the conviction of several Ministry of Internal Affairs officials for kidnapping a few years ago.
Leyla Yunus´s right to make the statements that made the Ministry of Interior bring the libel case against her is protected by the freedom of expression following Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Azerbaijan is a party.
The lack of freedom of expression and strong control on the media in Azerbaijan is a matter that has caused great concern and strong international criticism the last few years. A libel case brought against the Human Rights defender Leyla Yunus will contribute to aggravate this negative impression.
Based on the freedom of expression, citizens have the right to raise legitimate concerns about conditions and affairs in the country in which they live. Human Rights defenders will have a particular responsibility to report of possible human rights violations. In the case of Mrs Yunus, she merely quoted the proceedings of a public trial and commented on them. The information that surfaced during the trial had a clear public interest, and the content of the allegations should rather have lead to an investigation of them rather than to a civil libel case against one of the persons who made them more generally known. Public servants at the Ministry of Interior must tolerate such criticism.
We would like to remind the authorities of the republic of Azerbaijan of its duty to comply with all the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, in particular with Article 1, which provides that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”, Article 6.b, which provides that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others […] freely to publish, impart or disseminate to others views, information and knowledge on all human rights and fundamental freedoms”.
We, therefore, request you to withdraw the claim against the human rights defender Leyla Yunus immediately.
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