Xu Zhiyong sentenced to 4 years in prison
Xu Zhiyong, a forty-year-old human rights lawyer, was convicted to a four-year prison sentence by a Beijing court on 27 January on charges of ‘gathering crowds to disrupt public order’. At his trial, Xu’s lawyer was not allowed to call witnesses and his closing argument was interrupted and ended after ten minutes. Xu Zhiyong is a […]
Nasrin Sotoudeh expresses gratitude in video message
The video message that you find below was recently received from Nasrin Sotoudeh, after she was unexpectedly released early from prison in September 2013. Since 2009 L4L has campaigned for Nasrin Sotoudeh; this was after she received a travel ban for the first time. During her (unfair) trial and three-year detention, we asked attention for her situation through letter writing campaigns. When she went […]
Day of the endangered lawyer
24 January 2014 is the “Day of the Endangered Lawyer”. This year, the annual event focuses on lawyers in Colombia who receive death threats or have even been murdered because they defend the rights of the poorest, and who work on cases of human rights violations in rural areas where small-scale producers are attempting to return to lands illegally […]
Human rights lawyer Juan Carlos González Leiva attacked
On 9 January 2014, human rights lawyer Juan Carlos González Leiva, his wife and seven other individuals were attacked by by members of the National Revolutionary Police. Leiva is a human rights lawyer and member of the Consejo de Relatores de Derechos Humanos de Cuba (Council of Human Rights Reporters of Cuba), as well as […]
Lawyer Muharrem Erbey already 4 years in pre-trial detention
Muharrem Erbey, a Turkish lawyer, is one of the 152 prominent members of political and civil society organisations that stand trial together, in one single trial in Turkey. Since 24 December 2009, when he was arrested in the early morning by an anti-terror unit, he has been in pre-trial detention. As a lawyer, he stood […]
Monitoring trial Ümit Kocasakal, President of the Istanbul Bar Association
Lawyers for Lawyers has organised a trial observation and asked former President of the Amsterdam Bar Association, Hans van Veggel, to join the observation on behalf of concerned Dutch Bar Presidents. On 7 January 2013 Ümit Kocasakal, the President of the Istanbul Bar Association and members of its board , were put on trial […]
Human rights lawyer Razan Zeitouneh abducted
On 9 December 2013, human rights lawyer Razan Zeitouneh, her husband, Wa’el Hamada, and two colleagues, Nazem Hamadi and Samira Khalil, were abducted by unknown individuals. Razan Zeitouneh recorded this message and sent it to FIDH on 4 December 2013. L4L, together with another 15 organisations, issued a joint public statement saying Razan Zeitouneh and […]
UN Rights Tribunal calls for release of Vietnamese lawyer
PRESS RELEASE The detention of Vietnamese blogger, lawyer and human rights activist Le Quoc Quan has been condemned by a United Nations human rights tribunal as violating his right to freedom of expression and his right to a fair trial. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, a tribunal set up under the UN’s Human […]
Beatrice Mtetwa aquitted
On 26 November 2013, human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa was acquitted of the charge of “obstructing justice”. Zimbabwean police arrested Mtetwa, on Sunday 17 March 2013. She was arrested while attempting to provide legal assistance to Thabani Mpofu, Director of Research and Development in the Office of the Zimbabwean Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, who was arrested the same […]
Ramazan Demir is facing prosecution
Ramazan Demir, one of the guest speakers on the L4L-Award seminar in May 2013, has been charged with “insulting or (…) offending the dignity of a public authority in the performance of his duties”, pursuant to Section 125 of the Criminal Code which provides for up to two years of imprisonment. The charges are based on defence speeches he made […]
Abdolfattah Soltani ends hungerstrike
L4L received information that Abdolfattah Soltani ended his hunger strike. He went on hunger strike on 2 November 2013 to protest against the lack of proper medical care for himself and other prisoners of conscious jailed in Tehran’s Evin prison. Abdolfattah Soltani is a prominent human rights lawyer, and was spokesman for the Human Rights Defenders’ Center (CHRD). […]
Zinaida Mukhurtova released from psychiatric confinement but still at risk
On 1 November 2013, lawyer Zinaida Mukhortova was released from Astana Medical Centre for Psychological Health. She had forcibly been detained in psychiatric confinement since 9 August 2013. Unfortunately L4L has received information that during the latest appeal hearing, psychiatric tests reaffirmed that Zinaida Mukhortova is suffering from a ‘delusional disorder’. Therefore she is once again at risk […]
Lawyer Waleed Abu al-Khair sentenced for ‘offending judiciary’
On 30 October 2013, a court sentenced human rights lawyer Waleed Abu al-Khair to three months in prison, for offending the Saudi Arabian judiciary. These charges are believed to be related to his signing a petition critisizing in 2011 condemning the trials against Jeddah Reformists, and the events in Qutayef. Waleed Abu al-Khair is a human […]
International conference on human rights in EU and Russia
On 28 and 29 October 2013, an international conference on ‘Human rights in the European Union and in Russia’ was held in St. Petersburg. Eighty academics, jurists, lawyers, representatives of NGOs and students discussed current human rights issues in the EU and Russia. L4L and the Russian Foundation Human Rights Resource Center organised the conference. […]
Adam Sharief released from prison
Adam Sharief, a lawyer from Sudan, was released on 30 October 2013 after being held in custody for more than one month without charges. He safely returned to his family and colleagues. On 26 September 2013 the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) arrested Adam Sharief. He was arrested without a charge and wasn’t granted […]
Lawyer André Michel arbitrarily held in police custody
On 22 October 2013, human rights lawyer André Michel was arbitrarily held for one night in police custody. While on his way back home, André Michel’s car was stopped by police officers, who attempted to carry out a search of the vehicle. André Michel would only accept the search if a justice of the peace […]