Today, on 20 February 2018, one of our lawyers – Thomas Garner – will be speaking at an event at the European Parliament regarding the persecution of lawyers in Moldova, Azerbaijan, Ukraine Russia and Kazakhstan.
Gherson frequently acts for individuals facing politically motivated criminal proceedings in a variety of jurisdictions. We have decades of experience in working in Russia and the former Soviet states.
We often work alongside local lawyers in these jurisdictions who find themselves placed under incredible pressure with a view to preventing their clients from enjoying a proper defence.
Thomas Garner will be speaking about one such case in Azerbaijan. Fakhraddin Medhiyev is a well-known lawyer in Azerbaijan. For years he has worked on very sensitive cases. In January this year, as a direct result of his work for a client in a politically sensitive case, he has found himself summarily suspended from practice for 12 months and his colleague has also been disciplined. There was no hearing and he was not able to make any representations. The clear aim is to hinder his ability to defend his client.
His case is not an isolated incident. There are dozens of other lawyers in Azerbaijan and elsewhere who find themselves targeted simply for trying to do their job and defend their clients.
Gherson sincerely hope that this event and others like it will increase focus on the issue of such abuses at a European Level. The countries being discussed at today’s event are all members of the Council of Europe and should all respect the same human rights that lawyers in the West often take for granted.
A flyer for the event can be viewed here.
The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please don’t hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.
©Gherson 2018