Sign the petition for Yara Sallam!

On 28 December 2014, Egyptian human rights lawyer Yara Sallam and 23 young activists were sentenced on appeal to a two year prison term plus two years of police surveillance following release. They were inter alia charged with violating the controversial ‘Protest Law’ when they organised a peaceful demonstration outside the Itihadeya palace on 21 […]
Lawyer attacked after defending LGBTI-activist

On 25 November 2014, human rights lawyer Vitaly Cherkasov was attacked after defending an LGBTI rights activist in court. This was reported by Frontline Defenders on their website. The attackers sprayed an unknown liquid on Cherkasov. Vitaly Cherkasov is a member of the Interregional Association of Human Rights Organisation “Agora” which provides legal aid to […]
Disbarment of lawyer for ‘breaching professional ethics’

On 24 December 2014, Lawyers for Lawyers wrote letters to the Azerbaijan Bar Association in connection to the possible disbarment of lawyer Khalid Bagirov. Lawyers for Lawyers has reason to belief that his disbarment is connected to his legitimate activities as attorney. Bagirov’s license to practise was suspended on 10 December 2014. The Presidium of the Bar […]
Lawyer released from psychiatric clinic

On 15 December 2014, Kazakh lawyer Zinaida Mukhortova, who had been forcibly admitted to a psychiatric clinic on 2 July 2014, was released from the institution. In July 2014, Lawyers for Lawyers called on the Kazakh authorities to release Ms. Mukhortova from the psychiatric clinic, after she had been admitted in this clinic on 2 July 2014. […]
Wife of lawyer appeals for his freedom

In May 2014, lawyer Tang Jingling was taken from his home by police in Guangzhou and detained on charges of ‘picking quarrels and provoking trouble’. On 15 December, on Mr. Jingling’s 44th birthday, his wife Wang Yanfang released a statement to declare his innocence. Tang Jingling is a human rights lawyer whose clients have included […]
Lawyers for Lawyers urges authorities to stop harassing Nasrin Sotoudeh

Lawyers for Lawyers was informed that on Wednesday 10 December 2014, Nasrin Sotoudeh was arrested and detained for several hours by the Iranian authorities. Her husband confirmed her arrest on Facebook, adding that it was the authorities’ present to them on the occasion of international human rights day, which is celebrated annually on 10 December. Nasrin […]
Razan Zeitouneh one year missing

Since human rights lawyer Razan Zeitouneh, her husband and two colleagues were abducted on 9 December 2013 no one has heard of them. Razan Zeitouneh, Wael Hamada, Samira Khalil, and Nazem Hammadi disappeared in Douma, a city that is under the control of an armed opposition group. Today, exactly one year after their disappearance, fifty-seven organizations, […]
Lawyers for Lawyers calls upon authorities to release Yara Sallam

Lawyers for Lawyers was informed that Ms. Yara Sallam was arrested in Cairo on 21 June 2014 following police interference in a peaceful protest against the “anti-protest law”. While Ms. Sallam reportedly was around the site of the protest, she did not participate in it. Still, she was arrested, together with over 20 activists. Since […]
Lawyer criminally prosecuted on improper grounds

On 5 December 2014, Lawyers for Lawyers expressed its concern to the Moldovan authorities about lawyer Alexandru Bernaz. According to Lawyers for Lawyers’s information, Mr. Bernaz is subjected to improper interference by legal enforcement bodies due to his legitimate activities as a defense counsel. Last summer, Mr. Bernaz filed complaints against prosecutors of the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office. […]
Lawyer killed together with his wife

Russian lawyer Vitaliy Moiseyev and his wife Elena Moiseyeva were murdered on 24 October 2014. They were reportedly shot at least 30 times. Lawyers for Lawyers has reason to belief that they were killed because of Mr. Moiseyev’s legitimate legal activities. Mr. Moiseyev represented Sergey Zhurba, a key witness in a case concerning a significant […]
St. Petersburg lawyer assaulted

Well-known St. Petersburg lawyer Arkady Chaplygin beaten in the premises of the bar association; law enforcement agencies refuse to take action. Arkady Chaplygin is a lawyer and head of the specialised bar association ‘Prizyvnik’ in St. Petersburg. He is also chairman of the regional branch of the Party of Progress. On 26 November 2014, two […]
Kennedy Masiye Human Right Lawyer of the Year

On 9 November 2014, Zimbabwean human rights lawyer Kennedy Masiye was honoured as Human Right Lawyer of the Year by the Law Society of Zimbabwe for his outstanding contribution to the protection and promotion of human rights in the country. Unfortunately he was unable to attend the presentation of the award at the Law Society’s […]
WGAD: detention Abdul Aziz Moussa arbitrary

Lawyers for Lawyers was informed that, in an opinion adopted at its 70th session on 28 August 2014, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) found that the detention of Bahraini human rights lawyer Mr. Abdul Aziz Moussa and his client Mr. Mohammed Hasan Sedif were arbitrary. On 8 August 2013, lawyer Abdul […]
Hearing in ‘Raml police station’ case

On 17 November 2014, the Raml Misdemeanour Court held a hearing in the ‘Raml police station’ criminal case in which human rights lawyer Ms. Mahienour el-Massry is being prosecuted. The court heard three testimonies provided by witnesses presented by the defence. The defense additionally requested the court to summon the persons who filed the complaint […]
Meeting between lawyer and local communities interrupted by military

On 11 November 2014, a meeting between lawyer Sor Rattabanee Polkaw and members of local communities in Udon Thani Province, North-Eastern Thailand, was interrupted by members of the military and the police. Ms. Polkaw is a human rights lawyer from the Community Resources Centre (CRC), and visited the Udon Thani region for legal consultations with […]
Lawyers for Lawyers monitors hearings in Istanbul

This week Lawyers for Lawyers observed two hearings in the cases in which a large number of lawyers are being prosecuted. Both sessions were adjourned to May 2014. Lawyers for Lawyers monitored two hearings in the trials against Turkish lawyers in Istanbul on 11 and 13 November 2014. On 13 November, the trial against the 46 […]