Zakir Qaralov
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Zakir Bakir oglu Garalov ( Azerbaijani: ''Zakir Bəkir oğlu Qaralov'') (born January 13, 1956), sometimes rendered Zakir Qaralov, is a
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
n-born
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 politician who served as the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Azerbaijan, an office equivalent to the
attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
in other countries. Garalov is a member of the ruling
New Azerbaijan Party The New Azerbaijan Party ( az, Yeni Azərbaycan Partiyası, YAP) is the ruling political party in Azerbaijan, founded on 21 November 1992 under the leadership of Heydar Aliyev. After his election as President of Azerbaijan on 3 October 1993, and ...
and has held his present office for 11 years. He formerly served as the chief prosecutor in
Ganja Ganja (, ; ) is one of the oldest and most commonly used synonyms for marijuana. Its usage in English dates to before 1689. Etymology ''Ganja'' is borrowed from Hindi/Urdu ( hi, गांजा, links=no, ur, , links=no, IPA: aːɲd ...
. He is related to influential party official and longtime MP Zahid Garalov.


Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan

In 2005, Garalov raised eyebrows when he accused the
parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...
opposition of collusion with
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
and warned that Armenian-backed government opponents were plotting a revolution against President
Ilham Aliyev Ilham Heydar oghlu Aliyev ( az, İlham Heydər oğlu Əliyev, ; born 24 December 1961) is the fourth president of Azerbaijan, serving in the post since 31 October 2003. The son and second child of the former Azerbaijani leader Heydar Aliyev, ...
's government. In his capacity as prosecutor general, Garalov defended the arrest of journalist
Eynulla Fatullayev Eynulla Emin oglu Fatullayev ( az, Eynulla Fətullayev) (born 25 September 1976, Baku) is an Azerbaijani journalist and editor-in-chief of the independent Russian-language weekly ''Realny Azerbaijan'' and Azerbaijani-language daily ''Gündəli ...
in 2007, alleging that his website threatened
state-sponsored terrorism State-sponsored terrorism is terrorist violence carried out with the active support of national governments provided to violent non-state actors. States can sponsor terrorist groups in several ways, including but not limited to funding terrorist ...
by
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
against Azerbaijani government buildings. He claimed that Fatullayev's detention and imprisonment should not be taken as signs that Azerbaijan does not uphold
freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic News media, media, especially publication, published materials, should be conside ...
. Garalov benefited under a 2009 law that lifted restrictions on how many terms a prosecutor general could serve, as he was reappointed and confirmed to his current position in 2010, less than a year later. In 2011, Garalov said that his office would take action against government officials suspected of
corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
and
bribery Bribery is the Offer and acceptance, offering, Gift, giving, Offer and acceptance, receiving, or Solicitation, soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With reg ...
. "In order to require the same attitudes from others and have the moral rights for investigation fcorrupt officials' activity, we must start fighting against corruption from ourselves," he added, criticizing the "luxurious lifestyle" of some Azerbaijanis as evidence of corruption. After the outbreak of the 2011 protests against the Azerbaijani government, Garalov vowed to "suppress" the demonstrations and said that the experience of "other countries", presumably a reference to
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
,
Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
, and
Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...
, would not be repeated in Azerbaijan. Ahead of a planned protest in mid-April, Garalov accused opposition leaders
Ali Karimli Ali Karimli ( az, Əli Kərimli) born Ali Amirhuseyn oglu Karimov ( az, Əli Əmirhüseyn oğlu Kərimov) (born 28 April 1965) is an Azerbaijani politician and the head of the reformist wing of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (APFP). Biograp ...
and
Isa Gambar Isa Yunis oghlu Gambar ( Azerbaijani: ''İsa Yunis oğlu Qəmbər''), also known as Isa Gambar (born February 24, 1957), is an Azerbaijani politician and leader of the Equality Party ''(Müsavat)'', one of the opposition blocs in Azerbaijan. B ...
with acting on orders from foreign governments and summoned both leaders for interrogation, after which they were released. On 1 May 2020 Garalov was succeeded by Kamran Aliyev as the Prosecutor General. The decision was approved at the plenary meeting of the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
upon President
Ilham Aliyev Ilham Heydar oghlu Aliyev ( az, İlham Heydər oğlu Əliyev, ; born 24 December 1961) is the fourth president of Azerbaijan, serving in the post since 31 October 2003. The son and second child of the former Azerbaijani leader Heydar Aliyev, ...
's proposal.


References

1956 births Living people People from Dmanisi New Azerbaijan Party politicians Prosecutors General of Azerbaijan 20th-century Azerbaijani lawyers 21st-century Azerbaijani lawyers {{Azerbaijan-bio-stub