Criminal investigation of human rights lawyer
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
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 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 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 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 […]
Intigam Aliyev’s sentence upheld by Court of Appeal
On July 21, 2015, the Baku Appeal Court dismissed an appeal filed on behalf of human rights lawyer Intigam Aliyev and upheld the 7,5 year imprisonment sentence. During the hearing all petitions filed by the defence were denied. Aliyev was not allowed to sit next to his lawyer and was placed in a glass cage […]
Over 130 lawyers arrested or intimidated by authorities
The number of human rights lawyers and activists have been detained, arrested, held incommunicado, summoned to appear or restricted in their freedom in China since Thursday 9 July has reached 132, according to the China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group. In addition to these 132 lawyers, the massive campaign against human rights lawyers initiated by the authorities has targeted another 104 law […]
Lawyers for Lawyers
During its 29th session (from 15 June – 3 July 2015) , the Human Rights Council adopted without a vote a resolution on the independence and impartiality of the judiciary, jurors and assessors, and the independence of lawyers. While recalling the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers and condemning the increasingly frequent attacks on […]
Lawyers call for immediate release of Intigam Aliyev
95 lawyers from 24 countries call for the immediate and unconditional release of human rights lawyer Intigam Aliyev. He has been in jail in Azerbaijan since 8 August 2014. In a letter to President Ilham Aliyev the lawyers express concern over the sentencing of their colleague. “We identify with Intigam Aliyev”, the lawyers write, “because we […]
These lawyers must not be forgotten!
Three lawyers from Turkey, Cameroon and Colombia ask attention for their colleagues who face difficulties in exercising their profession as a lawyer. These lawyers should not be forgotten! On the day of the L4L-Award seminar ‘Lawyers are not their clients‘, Jacqueline van Vugt made a short film of the calls for attention by these three lawyers. L4L-Award […]
Thulani Maseko released from prison
On 30 June, the Swaziland Supreme Court ordered the release of human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko and journalist Bhekithemba Makhubu. The State conceded that it had no case against them and they were set free. Since 17 March 2014, when they were arrested, they were in prison. On 17 July, they had been convicted to […]
25 States call for release of human rights defenders
During the session of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations, 25 States, including the Netherlands, called for the immediate and unconditional release of journalists, human rights defenders and activists in Azerbaijan that have been unjustly detained. Amongst them is human rights lawyer Intigam Aliyev. He was sentenced to seven and a half years […]
