Shahla Humbatova: Human rights are the highest value

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- On March 5, the Baku Administrative Court satisfied the claim of the Bar Association to terminate your advocacy. How did you meet this decision?

- I was not surprised by the decision, as I know how the judicial system works. I did not expect another decision; I am not so naive as to expect an independent decision from the Baku Administrative Court. It would be more correct to say that the court approved the claim of the bar association, and did not satisfy it. Just as before, the court carried out orders to exclude Khalid Bagirov, Yalchin Imanov, Alayif Hasanov and others from the collegium of lawyers defending human rights.

-Why have you been removed from the legal profession? I am not giving an official reason, what moments in your activity annoyed those who made this decision or order?

-My removal from the Bar is a continuation of the policy pursued in the field of human rights. Just as oppositionists, journalists, bloggers, young activists who oppose the policies of the ruling regime and criticize the authorities are persecuted in the country, lawyers who defend the rights of these persons are also punished. In this sense, my business is not the first; this policy has been going on for many years. Before me, Elchin Namazov, Yalchin Imanov, Khalid Bagirov, Alayif Hasanov and other lawyers were expelled from the Bar, and I knew that sooner or later I would be expelled, so this was not a surprise to me. The pressure began in connection with the case of Mehman Huseynov. I knew that in the near future they would also get rid of me. I was told: "If you do not stop the actions contrary to the state interests, measures will be taken." And it happened. After the case of Mehman, I was a defender in the Ganja case, and it was then that I was removed from advocacy. In general, it is symbolic that for each resonant politically motivated case one lawyer is removed from the Bar - in the case of Ilgar Mammadov, Khalid Bagirov was expelled, in the case of Leyla Yunusova - her lawyer Alayif Hasanov, in the Nardaran case - Yalchin Imanov, and I became the victim of the Ganja case.

-You are the first Azerbaijani to receive the prestigious international "Brave Women" award. Your activities are seriously monitored by international organizations for the protection of human rights, as well as by diplomatic officials. The basis for this statement is provided by the statements of the US Secretary of State Anthony Blink about you on March 26, as well as statements by the Institute for Human Rights of the International Bar Association (IBAHV), condemning the decision to terminate your advocacy. Do you think that those who expelled you from the Bar Association will learn from these statements any lessons? May such statements somehow affect your activities?

- There was an international reaction from the very first day. All authoritative human rights organizations protested against my dismissal from the legal profession, 42 international organizations made joint statements, the Council of Europe; the US State Department condemned this situation. My expulsion from the Bar last month and the court's approval of the decision drew international reactions. On the one hand, such great support gives me strength and inspiration, but on the other hand, it is very disappointing, because it negatively affects the international image of Azerbaijan. Why should Azerbaijan become famous in this way? Every organization in the field of human rights, everyone who shows interest in this field in the world knows Azerbaijan as an enemy of human rights.

Every January, human rights organizations around the world - the US and European Lawyers' Bureaus, human rights organizations hold joint events and various actions dedicated to various persecuted, endangered lawyers. This year, these events were dedicated to Azerbaijan. Lawyers and human rights defenders from different countries circulated statements, held protests against the persecution of our human rights lawyers, throughout January, at conferences and meetings, the policy of repression against lawyers in Azerbaijan was discussed. The Bar Association of Azerbaijan is known to all reputable lawyers' organizations and human rights defenders of the world for its extremely negative image, in authoritative reports it is presented as a body that punishes lawyers defending human rights.

Of course, I would like it to be the other way. May our country be recognized throughout the world as a place where human rights are protected and valued, and lawyers who defend human rights are not punished for the conscientious performance of their work, but are cited as an example. The impact of the statements about my case and the international reaction have also further deteriorated our country's already negative human rights image. If the authorities accept and correctly assess these messages, change at least the repressive policy towards lawyers in this particular area, this will be useful both for the development of the legal profession in our country and for the international image of the country.

By the way, in the latest report of the US State Department on the state of human rights in Azerbaijan, most of it is devoted to the punitive policy towards lawyers and specific cases are indicated.

- Has anyone from the power circles tried to contact you after the statement of the US Secretary of State Anthony Blink? What was the reaction to this statement?

- I do not know the reaction of the authorities; at least no one contacted me about this.

-In general, in recent years, the number of lawyers engaged in political activities in the Bar Association has significantly decreased. What do you think is the purpose of such a policy? Where will such a policy lead to?

- As I said above, for several years the authorities have been not only punishing people who criticize and oppose the regime, but also lawyers who take on the protection of these people. When I came to the Bar, many lawyers defended political prisoners, persecuted oppositionists, journalists, young activists, religious prisoners, and human rights defenders. Most of them were excluded one by one, and now there are only a few lawyers defending politically motivated cases in which there are gross violations of human rights; you can count them on your fingers. So much for your goal. To leave defenseless those who oppose the government, it is convenient and calm to commit any arbitrariness and lawlessness against them, to prevent publicity, and to block access to international instances.

On the other hand, these are threats to lawyers in order to force them not to take this kind of case. I remember that there was not enough defenders in the Nardaran case, there were many arrested, relatives could not find lawyers. They asked me to find a lawyer for believers who were left without protection. I asked a colleague I respect, whom I know as a courageous and honest lawyer. The answer was, “Who then will take care of my children?” This is a classic answer and it describes very well the current situation of Azerbaijani lawyers. If a very professional lawyer takes a case, he will do it honestly and efficiently, that will not go unpunished. This is the situation. This was the goal of the policy of persecuting lawyers. Look, the number of lawyers has increased significantly over the past few years. Do you see an increase in the number of lawyers in politically motivated cases? No. None of the lawyers admitted to the Bar Association, does not go out in these cases, they can separate “dangerous” cases from convenient and safe ones. As the total number of members of the bar association increases, the number of lawyers defending human rights decreases. This is a formula for the development of today's legal profession. What words for the lawyer can be worse than the words, “Human rights are good, but our state has its own interests.” If a lawyer does not understand that human rights are the highest value, that the Highest interest of any state is to ensure human rights, this is very disappointing.