Head of the Press Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Azerbaijan, Hikmet Hajiyev, has condemned Britain’s “deliberate politicization” of the court ruling of the trial of Azerbaijani human rights activists Leyla and Arif Yunus.

As per the Azerbaijan MFA official, “the trial was conducted in an open and free atmosphere.”

The Minister for Europe at the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, David Lidington, had stated earlier that there were grounds for believing that the verdict was politically motivated, and diplomats and observers were not allowed to attend the trial.

The Baku Court of Grave Crimes on Thursday sentenced Leyla and Arif Yunus—who were charged with large-scale fraud—to 8.5 and 7 years in prison, respectively.

According to the investigation hypothesis, Leyla Yunus—the Founder and Director of the Institute for Peace and Democracy—had “received grants from international organizations, and under the name of implementing joint projects with an Armenian center.” Subsequently, and through her husband, Yunus had supposedly used these funds to “improve the financial condition of those whom she had tried to recruit for espionage activities.” Leyla Yunus, however, refutes these charges.

The Yunus couple is accused of high treason, too, but this case has been separated, reported the BBC Russian Service.