Azerbaijani advocate Yalchin Imanov awarded "Republican of the Year" Prize

The lawyer, Yalchin Imanov, who is defending Azerbaijani political prisoners, has received the "Republican of the Year" Prize, awarded by the D18 civil movement.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on November 20, 2017, the Presidium of the Bar Association of Azerbaijan (BAA) suspended Yalchin Imanov's powers and initiated the procedure for terminating his lawyer's status. On February 22, 2019, after numerous proceedings, the court approved Imanov's expulsion from the BAA.

The awarding ceremony of the "Republican of the Year" Prize took place on June 1 at the "ReAl" (Real Alternative) Party office in Baku, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

The Prize is annually awarded to people who promote the republican values through their activities, said Ruslan Izzetli, the leader of the D18 movement, at the ceremony. The rewarding is timed to the Republic Day, marked on May 28.

The D18 leader has noted that the real reason for Yalchin Imanov's exclusion from the BAA was his making public the facts of his clients' torture at the Gobustan Prison.

"Other lawyers have also faced pressure. By awarding Yalchin Imanov, we want to draw attention to problems of Azerbaijani lawyers, who experience pressure when they diligently perform their professional duties," Mr Izzetli has explained.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 2, 2019 at 03:15 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.