04:23, 8 February 2017

Court dismisses complaint of lawyer Alaif Gasanov against his exclusion from Bar Association of Azerbaijan

Alaif Gasanov. Photo: RFE / RL, http://www.azadliq.org/content/article/25276370.html

The Supreme Court (SC) of Azerbaijan has dismissed an appeal filed by lawyer Alaif Gasanov against the decisions of lower courts, which dismissed his claims for recognition of the illegality of his exception from the Bar Association of Azerbaijan.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on November 6, 2014, Alaif Gasanov was found guilty under article "insult" and sentenced to 240 hours of community service. This became the reason for the Bar Association to exclude Alaif Gasanov from its ranks, and he lost his right to practice law.

On September 21, 2014, the newspaper "Azadliq" published an open letter of Leyla Yunus, in which the human rights defender reported on pressure from her cellmate Nuriya Guseinova. Alaif Gasanov, a lawyer of Leyla Yunus, confirmed the authenticity of the human rights defender's letter. Nuriya Guseinova filed a lawsuit against Alaif Gasanov and demanded to bring the lawyer to justice under article "insult".

According to Alesker Mamedli, an expert in the field of law, a member of the Public Association "Civil Society Platform", treats the Alaif Gasanov's exception from the Bar Association as unlawful.

"It is clear that the criminal lawsuit was illegally filed against the lawyer. The lawyer was not responsible for the publication of his client's opinion. Even if the article contained defamation, the responsibility for it should have been borne by the author and the editors," Alesker Mamedli commented on the situation.

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

Author: Faik Medzhid

Source: CK correspondent