Letter to the authorities of Azerbaijan about the situation of lawyer Elchin Sadigov

Azerbaijan

Lawyers for Lawyers is concerned about the suspension of the bar license of Mr. Elchin Sadigov as of 6 July 2023. Mr. Sadigov is a prominent lawyer at the Bar Association of Azerbaijan. As part of his work, he defended the rights of political prisoners, journalists, media, political figures, activists and LGBTQ+ community.

According to information that we have obtained, his arrestation on 10 September 2022 was based ona smear  campaign. Currently, Mr Sadigov is released from prison but the criminal case against him is still pending criminal case is still pending and resulted in retention of his phones and computer as well as in a travel ban.

It must be mentioned that Mr Sadigov was and is the only lawyer in Azerbaijan who opposed torture and sent complaints relating to torture to the European Court of Human Rights. He demanded the recognition of the violation and publicised cases of torture. For this important and necessary work, Mr Sadigov has been suspended. At present, he fears for his profession, health and even life. We are concerned that the suspension of his bar license is based on the incorrect facts and directly contributes to repression of him as human rights lawyer.

Lawyers for Lawyers has written a letter to the authorities in Azerbaijan to raise awareness about the situation of Elchin Sadigov in which we urge the authorities to:

– order the termination of the criminal case against Mr. Sadigov;
– order the resumption of the bar license of Mr. Sadigov.

Read full letter here.