Leyla Yunus, the director of the Institute for Peace and Democracy, was detained by men in plain clothes on July 30. She was charged under Articles 274 (treason), 213 (tax evasion), 192 (illegal business), 320 (falsification of documents) and 178.3.2 (fraud causing large amount of damage). After a six-hour interrogation in the Prosecutor General’s Office for Investigation of Serious Crimes, she was taken to the Nasimi district court, which ordered a 3-month pretrial detention for her.
The right defender’s husband Arif Yunus was also charged with treason and fraud and was placed under police supervision.
Lawyer Javad Javadov says the couple do not admit the filed charges.
Background: Leyla and Arif Yunus were first detained while leaving the country on April 28. Their home was searched, but they were then freed after their foreign passports had been seized.