Azerbaijani lawyer Khalid Bagirov excluded from Bar Association

On July 10, a court in Azerbaijan satisfied the petition of the Bar Association asking to exclude the lawyer Khalid Bagirov from the Bar. The lawyer himself told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent about it.

The lawyer called the judgement illegal and politically motivated, adding that he intends to appeal against it.

Khalid Bagirov reminded that the formal reason for his exclusion from the Bar Association was his speech at the Sheki Appeal Court in the trial of Ilgar Mamedov, the leader of the civil movement "Republican Alternative" (ReAl).

"In my speech at that trial I said that should Azerbaijan had had justice, the court should not have passed that decision; and Rashid Guseinov (the judge of the Sheki Court of Grave Crimes, who passed the sentence on that case, – note of the "Caucasian Knot") would not have worked as a judge. That last phrase was the reason behind the decision of the Bar, whose members saw a violation of professional ethics in it. But I expressed my opinion; and there was nothing unethical in my remarks," said Bagirov.

In his opinion, the real reason for his exclusion from the Bar is in his intent to defend the rights of Khadija Ismayilova, who was arrested on December 5, 2014. "After that, they quickly 'cooked' the decision to expel me from the Bar," said Bagirov.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.