The European Court of Human Rights has ruled on the cases of Azerbaijani human rights defenders Leyla and Arif Yunus.

Leyla Yunus, the director of Institute of Peace and Democracy, and her husband Arif Yunus living in political emigration in the Netherlands appealed against their pre-trial arrest in Azerbaijan, linking the criminal prosecution with their criticism of the authorities.

The two were detained in 2014 while flying from the Baku airport. Searches were carried out in their office and apartment. Arif Yunus has become unwell and has been hospitalized during this time.

Azerbaijani courts ignored the spouses' complaints about the illegality of these actions. Following this, in August 2014, they were arrested on charges of fraud, tax evasion, and embezzlement.

A year later, Leyla and Arif Yunus were sentenced to 8.5 and 8 years in prison, respectively.

The ECHR recognized a violation of their rights and ruled that the Azerbaijani government is obliged to pay monetary compensation of EUR 20,000 each and another EUR 11,438 for legal fees.

The applicants considered that the reason for the persecution was their active citizenship and criticism of the government. The Court agreed with their arguments.