"Leyla and Arif Yunus were allowed to leave the country. I talked to them in the evening. A doctor came to Azerbaijan to examine them. He again wrote down a reasoned opinion that they have serious health problems. They were allowed to leave the country for treatment,” their  lawyer Elchin Sadigov wrote on his Facebook page.

 

The lawyer also mentioned that court proceedings will continue until they are acquitted.  

 

 Leyla and Arif Yunus departed to the Netherlands for treatment this morning. Leyla and Arif Yunus were charged under article 178.3.2 (large-scale fraud ) of Azerbaijan Criminal Code. On 13 August, the Baku Court on Grave Crimes sentenced Leyla Yunus to 8 years and 6 months in prison and Arif Yunus to 7 years in prison. The verdict also included the seizure of their property and transferring of their funds in their bank accounts to state account. The accused filed an appeal against the verdict.

 

At the hearing held on November 12, 2015, the Court of Appeal changed the pretrial detention. Arif Yunus was then released from the courtroom.

 

On December 9, 2015, Baku Court of Appeal issued decision in connection with their appeal. According to the decision, pretrial detention of Leyla Yunus was annulled and she was released from the court room.