On 16 December, the barristers of Muslim Union Movement Taleh Bagirzade, APFP deputy chairman Fuad Gahramanli and their sixteen other co-defendants prosecuted in connection with the Nardaran events appealed to the Bar Association due to the fact that despite being waived by their clients in the Nardaran case, they were forced to continue to represent them at their trial.
The Nardaran prisoners, who are not allowed to attend their own trial, do not want their lawyers to participate in it either, and have therefore waived their right to defence counsel. However, the judicial panel chaired by Judge Alovsat Abbasov in Baku Grave Crimes Court declined to accept the defendants’ waiver and their lawyers were demanded to continue their participation.
The judges did not change their mind even despite the lawyers’ protest.
Being compelled to participate in the proceedings, the lawyers went to the Bar Association hoping to find a solution to their problem. However, their meetings with the Bar chairman Azer Tagiyev and deputy chairman Farhad Najafov did not prove helpful, either. The leadership of the Bar Association refused to defend its members, on the contrary, warned them that they could be disbarred unless they participated in the trial and if any complaint was received in this connection.