BAKU -- A well-known Azerbaijani lawyer says he could be disbarred for defending prominent human rights activists and oppositionists.
Attorney Xalid Bagirov told RFE/RL on December 10 that Azerbaijan's Collegiate of Lawyers had suspended his license and officially asked a court to disbar him.
Bagirov says the move is politically motivated.
Last month, Bagirov was banned from defending jailed Azerbaijani human rights activist Leyla Yunus.
Among his clients have been many prominent Azerbaijani human rights activists and bloggers, including Ilqar Mamedov, Arif Yunus, and Abdula Abilov.
In 2011, Bagirov's attorney's license was suspended for one year after the chief of the Baku City police accused him of libel.
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