Azerbaijan trial begins for lawyer Zabil Gahramanov critical of police

Zabil Gahramanov

The trial of a prominent Azerbaijani lawyer has opened in the western city of Ganja, months after he accused local police of corruption and abuse of power.

Zabil Gahramanov, who has been held in pre-trial detention since October last year, faces four charges, including hooliganism and fraud, which he rejects as politically motivated.

He was recently transferred from the Baku Investigative Detention Centre in Kurdakhani to Ganja Detention Centre No. 2. A preliminary hearing, presided over by Judge Ulkar Babazade, was scheduled for Wednesday at Ganja City Court.

Prosecutors allege that on 23 October last year, Gahramanov injured a man, Fazil Isgandarov, during a dispute at a car wash in the Goygol region. The incident forms the basis of the hooliganism charge against him.

Gahramanov also faces allegations of fraud. Investigators claim that on the day of his arrest, a former client, Emin Ibrahimov, filed a complaint alleging the lawyer had accepted 5,600 Azerbaijani manats (£2,600) on the promise of securing a favourable court outcome. Several other complainants later emerged.

Gahramanov denies all the charges, arguing they are a provocation designed to silence him. He claims he was targeted for publishing Facebook posts exposing illegal activities by officers from the Ganja City Main Police Department.

Before his arrest, Gahramanov, who worked with the Ganja Regional Law Office, had successfully secured acquittals and releases for numerous defendants whose cases had been investigated by the Ganja police.

Two weeks prior to his arrest, Gahramanov's licence to practise law was suspended for six months by the Azerbaijani Bar Association following a complaint from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The international legal community has raised concerns over his prosecution. The Union Internationale des Avocats Institute for the Rule of Law (UIA-IROL) said in a statement that his arrest appeared to be linked to his professional activity and his vocal criticism of police misconduct in Azerbaijan.