Azerbaijani activists see no grounds for termination of advocate Gumbatova's power

Shakhla Gumbatova claims that the decision pronounced by the Presidium of the Bar Association of Azerbaijan to suspend her power is unfair. Activists believe that the Azerbaijani Bar Association wants to prevent Shakhla Gumbatova from protecting the rights of people persecuted for political reasons.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent has been informed by Farkhad Nadjafov, the chair of the administration of the Azerbaijani Bar Association, that they got a complaint, according to which Shakhla Gumbatova had submitted a "false document" to the court in a case of a woman. Besides, according to Farkhad Nadjafov, Shakhla Gumbatova has not been paying membership fees for more than six months.

Shakhla Gumbatova herself believes that the violations imputed to her do not give grounds for the suspension of her advocate's power.

Blogger Mekhman Guseinov suggests that Shakhla Gumbatova is being persecuted due to the fact that she defends the rights of activists.

"When a new criminal case was instituted against me, Shakhla Gumbatova selflessly defended me. Despite the threats, she made public the fact that I declared a dry hunger strike ... As a result, the criminal case against me was closed," Mekhman Guseinov said.

Ilgar Mamedov, the leader of the "Republican Alternative" (ReAl) Party, called shocking the Azerbaijani Bar Association's decision regarding the suspension of the advocate Shakhla Gumbatova's power.

"Irada Djavadova, Yalchin Imanov, and other advocates well known for their defence of political prisoners were excluded from the Bar Association of Azerbaijan," Ilgar Mamedov noted.