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          US Welcomes Azerbaijan Decision to Allow Activist to Travel

   by Reuters

   The United States welcomed on Tuesday a decision by Azerbaijan to allow
   human rights activist Leyla Yunus and her husband, Arif Yunus, a
   historian, to leave the country for urgent medical purposes.

   "The United States welcomes as another positive step Azerbaijan's
   decision," State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.

   "We encourage the government to take additional steps and
   unconditionally release all individuals who have been incarcerated for
   exercising their fundamental freedoms," he added.

   Leyla Yunus, head of the Baku-based Institute for Peace and Democracy,
   had been held in detention since July 2014 before her release in
   December. She was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in jail last
   August.

   Her husband, who was sentenced to seven years, was released from prison
   Nov. 12. They were convicted of treason, espionage and tax evasion in a
   case that human rights groups say was part of a campaign to muzzle
   dissent.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/us-welcomes-azerbaijan-decision-allow
   -activist-to-travel/3292908.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/us-welcomes-azerbaijan-decision-allow-activist-to-travel/3292908.html