Possible disbarment of lawyers Marina Dubrovina and Dokka Itslaev
On 27 May 2016, a Supreme Court judge in the Chechen Republic issued a special ruling which may lead to the disbarment of human rights lawyers Marina Dubrovina and Dokka Itslaev. The lawyers were accused of committing actions that “challenge the honour and injure the dignity of an advocate”. This was reported by Frontline Defenders […]
Run Dam2Dam
Op 18 september 2016 gaat de 32ste editie van de Dam tot Damloop van start. De populaire loop was in minder dan twee uur uitverkocht. Vis jij dit jaar weer achter het net? Dan heb je nu de kans om toch mee te doen. Lawyers for Lawyers heeft 100 deelnemersbewijzen voor de Dam tot Damloop […]
Good news: decision that revoked license Guleid Ahmed Jama annulled
On 11 June 2016, the Chief Justice of Somaliland issued a decree annulling the previous ministerial decision that revoked Guleid Ahmed Jama’s license to practice law. The ruling of the Chief Justice stated that the minister had no power to terminate the license. He also ruled that being a member of a human rights organization is […]
Attack on lawyer Asrul Azis Sigalingging
Lawyers for Lawyers and Lawyers Rights Watch Canada (LRWC) are concerned about the physical attack on lawyer Asrul Azis Sigalingging. When Mr. Siagalingging tried to provide legal assistance to an arrested student, he was attacked by Satuan Polisi Pamong Praja (Satpol PP) personnel. On 25 March 2016, seven students who were enjoying street food were […]
Unlawful detention of lawyer Malek Adly
Lawyers for Lawyers expresses its deep concern over the recent violence, arbitrary arrests and detentions, and unfair trials targeting civil society in Egypt, including Egyptian human rights lawyers. These government actions seem to have been triggered by the protest of 25 April 2016 against the human rights abuses by the regime and its recent decision to […]
Disbarment proceedings against lawyer Muzaffar Bakhishov
Lawyer Muzaffar Bakhishov is facing disbarment in connection to critical statements he made about the functioning of the Azeri judiciary. This was reported by the International Commission of Jurists on their website. According to the information received, the proceedings against Mr Bakhishov, following a recommendation for disbarment by the Plenum of the Bar Association, are […]
Improper interrogation of lawyer Marina Moshko
Lawyer Marina Moshko was reportedly the subject of improper interrogation as a witness. Furthermore, her apartment and office were searched by investigators of the Investigative Committee of Russia. This was reported by the International Commission of Jurists on their website. Marina Moshko represents Natalia Koltsova in a criminal case related to alleged criminal business activities. […]
UPR Mid-term report
In preparation of the Universal Periodic Review of the Russian Federation in 2018, Lawyers for Lawyers has written a mid-term report. In this report, we set out to which extent the Russian Federation has implemented the recommendations it accepted during the 2013 UPR process in relation to the role of lawyers. During the UPR in […]
Mahienour el-Massry one year in prison
Lawyers for Lawyers today called on the Egyptian authorities to immediatly drop the charges against lawyer Mahienour el-Massry and to immediatly release her. Ms. El-Massry was detained exactly one year ago today, on 11 May 2015. On 31 May 2015 the Court of Appeal sentenced Mahienour El-Massry, along with nine activists, to one year and […]
Concerns over intimidation lawyers Sirikan Charoensiri and Benjarat Meethien
Lawyers for Lawyers, Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada (LRWC) and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) wrote a joint-letter to the Lawyers Council of Thailand (LCT) expressing concern over two cases of intimidation and harassment against human rights lawyers. Lawyers Sirikan Charoensiri and Benjarat Meethien both face criminal proceedings – seemingly as a result of the […]
Harassment of lawyer Juan Carlos Gutiérrez
The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) has expressed concerns about the alleged ongoing harassment of Juan Carlos Gutiérrez in Venezuela as he carries out his professional duties as defence lawyer for Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López. On 25 April 2016, Mr. Gutiérrez filed a formal complaint before the National Prosecutor’s Office. In his […]
Joint letter to Special Rapporteurs on detention lawyers
Lawyers for Lawyers, together with other organizations, called on United Nations Special Rapporteurs to urge the Turkish authorities to withdraw all charges against human rights lawyers Ayşe Acinikli and Ramazan Demir, and to release them with immediate effect. The letter was sent to five Special Rapporteurs of the United Nations, including the UN Special Rapporteur on […]
Lawyer Zhang Kai released
On 23 March 2016, lawyer Zhang Kai was released by the Chinese authorities after being detained for seven months. The reasons for his sudden release are not known. Zhang Kai, better known as the lawyer of the Chinese churches, disappeared in Wenzhou, China in August 2015. He was one of the more than two hundred […]
Lawyer Yuri Grabovski killed
On 25 March 2016, police discovered the body of Ukrainian lawyer Yuri Grabovski. The lawyer was reportedly found shot and buried near the Kiev-Odessa main route. Yuri Grabovski had been acting as the defence lawyer in a high profile and deeply politicised case since 2015 and had repeatedly denounced the harassment and intimidation he was […]
Court rules in favour of lawyer Ayman Umarova
The Appeals Collegium of the Almaty City Court decided on 18 April 2016 that demands from the investigative authorities to a lawyer to testify as a witness in a case in which she represented a client, were contrary to the law of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Court overturned an earlier decision of the Medeu […]
Call for release of ‘Douma Four’ on birthday of Razan Zaitouneh
To mark the birthday of missing human rights lawyer Razan Zaitouneh, today a large amount of organizations, including Lawyers for Lawyers, called for her immediate release, as well as that of her colleagues Samira Khalil, Nazem Hamadi and Wa’el Hamada. The four, also known as the ‘Douma Four’, were abducted on 9 December 2013 in […]