Saudi Arabia and China Oral statements at UN Human Rights Council
This week, Lawyers for Lawyers, together with three other organizations, delivered two oral statements during the 30th Session of the UN Human Rights Council. On 21 September 2015, Lawyers Rights Watch Canada, L4L and FIDH/OMCT delivered an oral statement at the UN Human Rights Council. The organizations called on the Council to condemn gross, widespread […]
Thailand and Tajikistan Lawyers for Lawyers submits two UPR reports
On 21 September, Lawyers for Lawyers submitted two reports the Universal Periodic Review of Thailand and Tajikistan. Thailand In the report on Thailand, Lawyers for Lawyers highlighted the failure of Thailand to guarantee effective access to legal services provided by an independent legal profession as set out in the UN Basic Principles on the Role of […]
Lawyers for Lawyers and 3 organisations submit joint UPR report
On 21 September, Lawyers for Lawyers, together with the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC), the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) and Judges for Judges (J4J), submitted a joint report for the Universal Periodic Review of Swaziland. In the report, the organisations raise their concerns with regard to the continued suppression of freedom of expression, […]
Lawyers for Lawyers
Lawyers for Lawyers will be represented at the annual OSCE ODIHR Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, to be held in Warsaw from 21 September to 2 October. Lawyers for Lawyers is involved in the organization of a side event during this year’s meeting. Wednesday, 23 September, Time: 13:00-15:00 Venue: Opera Title: Human Rights lawyers: Challenges and Professional […]
Arrest of lawyer Ebru Timtik
Lawyer Ebru Timtik, member of Progressive Lawyers Association (CHD), was arrested in September 2015 in front of the Austrian Consulate in Yeniköy. She was there to collect signatures for a petition in support of one of her clients whose passport was confiscated in Austria. She was arrested on charges of “making propaganda for a terrorist […]
UN Side Event
Judges, lawyers, prosecutors and human rights: 30 years of UN action Tuesday 15 September 2015, 1600 – 1800 Room XXII, Palais des Nations, Geneva Followed by a drinks reception hosted by the IBA’s Human Rights Institute in Bar Serpent, Palais des Nations The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) invite […]
Stabbing of human rights lawyer Mahfooz Saeed
On 4 September 2015, human rights lawyer Mahfooz Saeed was attacked by two unidentified men in Malé. During the attack, he sustained stab wounds on one side of his head. This was reported by frontline defenders on their website. Mahfooz Saeed is a human rights lawyer and member of the legal team for former president […]
Criminal investigation of human rights lawyer Tigran Hayrapetyan
UPDATE: On 25 August 2015, the Investigative Committee of Armenia terminated the criminal case against the human rights lawyer Tigran Hayrapetyan. On 27 July 2015 human rights lawyer Tigran Hayrapetyan was informed about the criminal case which was opened against him by the Special Investigative Agency. This was reported by Frontline Defenders on their website. […]
Prison officers interfere with work lawyer Snezhanna Kim
On 24 July 2015, lawyer Snezhanna Kim met with one of the clients in a detention facility in Kostanay. On this visit, she was harassed by officers of the facility. During Snezhanna Kim’s meeting with her client, an officer of the detention facility came into the room and demanded to read the notes that Kim […]
Lawyers are denied access to their clients
Lawyers Simon Banundi, Theresje Julianty Gasperz and Samuel Aaron Yensenem are facing severe obstructions while representing the legal interests of four clients. These clients had been arrested on 20 May 2015 during a peaceful demonstration and are activists of the National Committee of West-Papua (KNPB). Since 20 May 2015, the four clients have been in […]
Lawyer Deniz Sürgüt arrested while monitoring mass-arrest
In August 2015, a mass-arrest took place in Idil, carried out by special units of the police. Human rights lawyer Deniz Sürgüt, member of the Lawyers Association for Freedom, was at the request of relatives of those arrested present in Idil to monitor the situation. He was reporting on the crimes committed by the police […]
Disbarment of lawyer Khalid Bagirov for ‘breaching professional ethics’
On 10 July 2015, the Nizami District Court decided to order the disbarment of lawyer Khalid Bagirov for alleged inappropriate conduct in court. Lawyers for Lawyers has reason to belief that his disbarment is connected to his legitimate activities as attorney. Bagirov’s license to practise law was already suspended on 10 December 2014. The Presidium of […]
Mazen Darwish released
On 10 August 2015, human rights defender Mazen Darwish was conditionally released following more than three years in prison. Mazen Darwish is a human rights defender and journalist from Syria. Despite obtaining a law degree, he was never admitted to the Bar to work as a lawyer due to his human rights activities. In 2000, he founded the Syrian […]
Lawyer Sirikan Charoensiri harassed
On 4 August 2015, Lawyers for Lawyers sent letters to the authorities of Thailand in connection to the harassment and intimidation of human rights lawyer Sirikan Charoensiri. Lawyers for Lawyers has reason to belief that these acts of harassment are connected to her legitimate activities as attorney. On June 26, Thai police arrested 14 students after they […]
Harassment of Lawyer Reina Lilian Rodríguez
Lawyer Reina Lilian Rodriguez and her team are the subject of acts of intimidation and harassment. Frontline Defenders reports this on their website. Reina Lilian Rodriguez is a lawyer and Southern Regional Delegate of the Commissión Nacional de los Derechos Humanos – CONADEH (National Human Rights Commission). On 30 June 2015, an unknown person was […]
Open letter to President Xi Jinping for massive wave of arrests
In an open letter to President Xi Jinping, 26 organisations, including Lawyers for Lawyers, have strongly condemned the recent unprecedented and seemingly well-coordinated detention campaign of a large number of human rights lawyers in China (see the Chinese version of the letter here). The wave of arrests followed the disappearance of lawyer Wang Yu on 9 July 2015. As […]