Lawyer Khalid Bagirov about the reasons for the ban on his activities

In an interview with the radio "Voice of America" ​​ the lawyer Khalid Bagirov spoke about the reasons for the prohibition of his activities.  He noted that the ban was introduced after his critical statements at the trial of the leader of REAL Ilgar Mamedov.

"In Azerbaijan, there is not  a fair trial, as I said in my speech. The court could prove the contrary, but  however, proved exactly what I said. If a lawyer is   deprived of the righst for activities only for stating fact, it means the inability of advocacy," Bagirov said.

"In the country there is a profound distortion of the concept of law under pressure from an authoritarian system. The concept of "Law" is  perverted. So,  what is happening lately has nothing to do with the real law and legal justice," said the lawyer.

Asked whether there is a need to establish alternative Bar, Bagirov said that the problem is somewhat broader. "Many people think that the problem is  in the absence of alternative Bar. I do not quite agree with that. The problem is serious - the lack of a legal system as a whole.

Previouly the legal system was fullyc ontrolled by  state tructures. Later stages government control began to spread to structures that are not in their direct supervision, including political parties, NGOs, religious organizations, the media and other public and non-governmental organization. In this situation, the availability of alternative Bar does not mean the opportunity for an independent legal profession. The system has set a target to knock down everything and everyone.

"The problem is the political system that does not allow the existence and functioning of the independent activity of the authorities," said Bagirov.

Bagirov previously was excluded from the protection of Leyla Yunus. He was also a lawyer of many other political prisoners and journalists arrested for criticizing the government. -03B04-