Administrative charges against Leonid Sudalenko and Anatoly Poplavnyi
On 17 March 2017 the district court of Gomel in Belarus found human rights lawyers Leonid Sudalenko and Anatoly Poplavnyi guilty of non-compliance with the legal requirements on the organisation and conducting of mass events. This was reported by Frontline Defenders on their website. Poplavnyi and Sudalenko were involved in peaceful protests on 19 February […]
Human rights lawyer Sirikan Charoensiri to receive Lawyers for Lawyers Award
Sirikan Charoensiri, a human rights lawyer from Thailand, will receive the Lawyers for Lawyers Award 2017. On 19 May 2017 Sirikan Charoensiri will accept the Award at L4L’s seminar ‘The Voice of Rights’, about lawyers and freedom of expression, hosted by Allen & Overy in Amsterdam. An expert jury selected her because of her “unwavering […]
Save the date! 19 May: L4L-Award seminar
L4L invites you to “The Voice of Rights” About lawyers and Freedom of Expression Seminar + Presentation of the L4L-Award 2017 Introduction: Phon van den Biesen President Lawyers for Lawyers Special guests: Mark Stephens (United Kingdom) Electra Koutra (Greece) Jorge Molano (Colombia) L4L-Award Laureate 2015 Heikelien Verrijn Stuart Chair of the L4L Award Jury Moderator: […]
UPR report Ukraine submitted
In March 2017, Lawyers for Lawyers submitted a report for the Universal Periodic Review of Ukraine, which will be discussed during the session in November. In the report, Lawyers for Lawyers highlighted that the Ukrainian authorities do not always uphold the necessary guarantees for the proper functioning of the legal profession in practice. Lawyers are regularly subjected […]
Call to ensure right to a fair trial
In a joint statement, Lawyers for Lawyers, together with other organizations, called on the Chinese authorities to ensure the right of a fair trial in the forthcoming trials of the cases of the ‘709-crackdown’. In July 2015, an unprecedented and seemingly well-coordinated detention campaign of a large number of human rights lawyers and defenders in […]
Sentencing of lawyer Oleg Volchek
Lawyers for Lawyers is concerned about the sentencing of lawyer Oleg Volchek. We shared our concerns in a letter to the authorities of Belarus. Oleg Volchek is a prominent human rights lawyer and director of the non-governmental organisation Pravovaya Pomoshch Naseleniyu (Legal Aid to Population). He defends political rights and fights against the use of torture and bad […]
L4L and FTW observe hearing in KCK-trial
On March 9, 2017 there was another hearing in Istanbul in the long-running case against 46 lawyers accused of being involved in terrorism. The trial started in November 2011. All the lawyers on trial were at some point involved in the defence of the PKK leader, Abdullah Öcalan. Some of them were held in pre-trial […]
13 years since disappearance of lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit
Thirteen years after Thai human rights lawyer Somchai Neelaijipit went missing, there is still no prospect of justice. Somchai disappeared on 12 March 2004, one day after he had publicly accused the police of torturing his clients, who were in detention in the South of Thailand. Since then, nothing has been heard of him. Shortly […]
Harassment of lawyer Salah Dabouz
Lawyer Salah Dabouz has, for the past few months, faced ongoing harassment. The harassment is a result of his involvement as lead lawyer in the legal defense of human rights defender Kamal Eddin Fekhar and his colleagues. This was reported by Frontline Defenders on their website. On 6 March 2017, Salah Dabouz was informed that […]
Trial against lawyer Nkongho Felix Agbor-Balla
Lawyers for Lawyers is concerned by the trial of lawyer Nkongho Felix Agbor-Balla from the Republic of Cameroon. Agbor-Balla faces wide-ranging and serious charges, including ‘Hostilities against the Fatherland’ and incitement to civil war and revolution. A number of the indictments carry the death penalty on conviction. This was reported by the International Bar Association’s […]
UN Side Event “The Independence of the Legal Profession”
On 16th March 2017, Lawyers for Lawyers, in partnership with the Law Society of England and Wales, is organising a UN side event at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The side event will focus on the topic of the independence of the legal profession worldwide. Lawyers from Turkey, Cameroon, and Azerbaijan will share their […]
Li Chunfu released on bail
On 12 January 2017, 44-year-old lawyer Li Chunfu was released on bail, after a detention of nearly 18 months. Li Chunfu is the younger brother of Li Heping, another prominent human rights attorney who was arrested on 10 July 2015 (one month before Li Chunfu was arrested). When Li Chunfu’s wife, Bi Liping, saw him […]
Killing of lawyer U Ko Ni
Lawyers for Lawyers was shocked to learn about the killing of lawyer U Ko Ni on 29 January 2017. We call on the authorities of Myanmar to conduct a prompt, thorough, impartial and transparent investigation into the killing of U Ko Ni. According to our information, on 29 January 2017, U Ko Ni was shot […]
Crimea lawyers harassed
Lawyers for Lawyers is concerned about the harassment of Emil Kurbedinov and Nikolai Polozov, both working as human rights defense lawyers in the Crimea. Both lawyers were detained in January 2017. This was reported by Human Rights Watch on their website. Since the occupation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, Kurbedinov and Polozov have been […]
Burundi lawyers disbarred
On 16 January 2017, the ‘Secrétaire Général et porte parole de la Cour Suprême’ of Burundi posted a message on her Twitter account, stating lawyers Vital Nshimirimana, Armel Niyongere, Dieudonnee Bashirahishize from the Bujumbura Bar Association, and to suspend Lambert Nigarura for one year. The lawyers have to date not been duly notified. In October […]
Nomination L4L Award 2017 open
Nominate now! Until 15 February 2017 you can nominate a lawyer, or a group of lawyers, for the Lawyers for Lawyers Award 2017. This award is presented every two years to a lawyer who promotes the rule of law and human rights in an exceptional way, who has been threatened or obstructed because of his […]