back to homepage



Azerbaijan, 5 April 2012: Break-in at the offices of the Institute of Peace and Democracy and the Women Crisis Center

In the morning of 2 April 2012, members of the Institute of Peace and Democracy (IPD) and the Women Crisis Center (WCC) discovered that the door to their offices in Baku had been forced open and there were signs of an intrusion having taken place. Following the demolition on 10 August 2011 of the building at 38, Shamsi Badalbeyli Street in Baku, which housed their former offices, the two human rights organisations moved to the apartment belonging to the grand father of Mrs Leyla Yunus, head of the IPD, situated at 53, Nisami, apt. 30 in Baku. (See Front Line Defenders' urgent appeal dated 5 May 2011 http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/15172 and update dated 16 August 2011 http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/15985)

On 2 April 2012, when members of the IPD and the WCC arrived at their offices, they saw that the door of the apartment was open and there were evident marks of a break-in. There were foot prints all over the apartment, the entry door and the door to Leyla Yunus' bureau were broken. Leyla Yunus considers that the reason for the break-in was to install wire-tapping equipment, as there is evidence that that such equipment had been installed in their previous offices. The office manager also believes that the content of the computers were copied during the break-in.

Human rights defenders from both organisations have allegedly linked this incident to interviews concerning the human rights situation in Azerbaijan given by Leyla Yunus at the offices to Western journalists, before the Eurovision song contest which is due to take place in Baku in May 2012. The break-in may also be linked to the meeting scheduled for 2 April 2012 between Leyla Yunus and the delegation of the Monitoring Committee of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. During the preparation for this meeting, Leyla Yunus had stated, in her electronic correspondence with the Monitoring Committee, that she possessed information and documents relating to corrupt practices by local authorities in relation to the extensive demolition of houses in the centre of Baku.

Members of the IPD and the WCC refused to lodge a complaint with the police about the break-in as they believe that it would not be taken seriously.

Front Line Defenders believes that the break-in at the offices of the IPD and the WCC is linked to the legitimate and peaceful human rights work of these organisations and constitutes an attempt to frighten the human rights defenders and to hinder their work.

Front Line Defenders urges the authorities in Azerbaijan to: