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Shahla Humbatova has been an
In 2019 she spoke publicly about the poor conditions of the political prisoner and journalist Mehman Huseynov. He was her client and she was later cautioned for spreading false information by the penitentiary service and the Azerbaijani Bar Association threatened proceedings. After this the prison refused to allow her access to her clients. The bar association attracted international criticism for moving to disbar Humbatova. Critics included the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute and Lawyers for lawyers. The bar association was asked to withdraw given the "arbitrary" nature of its charges.
She was given an award as an
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
i human rights lawyer since 2013. After speaking out about prison conditions she found herself disbarred from being a lawyer. There were international protests and in 2020 she was recognised as an International Woman of Courage by the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo
Michael Richard Pompeo (; born December 30, 1963) is an American politician, diplomat, and businessman who served under President Donald Trump as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 2017 to 2018 and as the 70th United State ...
.
Life
She began practising law in Azarbaijan in 2013 where lawyers who are advocates in human rights cases can find themselves abused on-line and even disbarred, She is one of two women who are willing to champion such cases in her country's conservative culture. She has attracted criticism, and admiration, for defending LGBT clients. Her example is encouraging others to follow.
In 2019 she spoke publicly about the poor conditions of the political prisoner and journalist Mehman Huseynov. He was her client and she was later cautioned for spreading false information by the penitentiary service and the Azerbaijani Bar Association threatened proceedings. After this the prison refused to allow her access to her clients. The bar association attracted international criticism for moving to disbar Humbatova. Critics included the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute and Lawyers for lawyers. The bar association was asked to withdraw given the "arbitrary" nature of its charges.
She was given an award as an International Women of Courage
The International Women of Courage Award, also referred to as the U.S. Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award, is an American award presented annually by the United States Department of State to women around the world who have ...
on 4 March 2020 by the US Secretary of State. Earle D. Litzenberger the US ambassador returned to Washington to support her as she received the award. She was the first person from Azerbaijan to win the award. She noted afterwards that she had been rewarded in America for the same thing that she had been punished for in her own country.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Humbatova, Shahla Living people 21st-century Azerbaijani lawyers Azerbaijani human rights activists LGBT rights activists Year of birth missing (living people) Recipients of the International Women of Courage Award 21st-century women lawyers Women civil rights activists