Description: (Human rights activist)
Leyla Yunus is an Azerbaijani human rights activist and director of the Institute of Peace and Democracy, a prominent human rights organization. She is known for her work in advocating for citizens affected by forced evictions in Baku and for organizing protests in their support. Yunus played a key role as a co-founder of the modern Popular Front party. In 2014, she was imprisoned by Azerbaijani authorities on charges of fraud and tax evasion, which were widely believed to be baseless. Despite being sentenced to 8.5 years in jail, she was released in 2015 on a suspended sentence due to her deteriorating health.