China UPR: attention for repression of lawyers
On 22 October, the UN Human Rights Council will discuss China in the context of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). Together with Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada, L4L filed a joint submission in March of this year. The joint submission is referred to in the stakeholder summary composed by the High Commissioner for Human Rights (see […]
One year since enforced disappearance human rights lawyer Khalil Ma’touq
More than one year ago, Syrian lawyer Khalil Ma’touq was arrested on his way to work. Since then, no further information could be obtained regarding his situation and whereabouts. Khalil Ma’touq is the executive director of the Syrian Center for Legal Studies and Research and the head of the Syrian Center for the Defense […]
Court of Appeal upholds prison sentence Mohammad Seifzadeh
Late September 2013, the Court of Appeal upheld the sentence imposed on Mohammad Seifzadeh by the Islamic Revolution Court on 20 February 2013. This Court sentenced him to six years imprisonment, on charges of “collusion to take action against the national security” and “spreading propaganda against the system”. These charges were based on a letter he had written […]
Le Quoc Quan sentenced to 30 months in jail
On 2 October 2013, Vietnamese lawyer Le Quoc Quan was sentenced to 30 months in jail for tax evasion. Le Quoc Quan is a well-known Vietnamese lawyer and human rights defender. He has been harassed constantly since 2007 by the Vietnamese authorities because of his human rights activities. Le Quoc Quan was arrested by […]
Court upholds psychiatric confinement of human rights lawyer Zinaida Mukhortova
On 27 September 2013, Karaganda’s regional court of Karaganda confirmed the decision of the Balkhash Court to approve the forced psychiatric confinement of lawyer Zinaida Mukhortova, thereby dismissing her appeal. The decision was taken in her absence, even though Zinaida Mukhortova’s lawyers allegedly requested that the hearing would be postponed until October in order to ensure […]
Magamed Abubakarov te gast op jaarcongres NOvA
Magamed Abubakarov was op 27 september 2013 special guest tijdens de sessie van L4L op het Jaarcongres van de Nederlandse Orde van Advocaten in ’t Spant in Bussum. Op 31 mei ontving hij de Lawyers for Lawyers Award 2013. Meer informatie over Magamed Abubakarov Magamed Abubakarov is geboren in Tsjetsjenië en vestigde zich als advocaat in Grozny, Tsjetsjenië, in 2004. Hij treedt […]
Monitoring hearing in mass-trial against lawyers
On 17 September 2013, the trial against 46 lawyers who are suspected of having ties with the Union of Communities in Kurdistan (KCK) continued in Silivri, Turkey. Lawyers for Lawyers has been monitoring this case since the start of it, and attended all eight hearings in this trial. The hearing that took place on 17 […]
Release Nasrin Sotoudeh great news for legal profession in Iran
“The release of Nasrin Sotoudeh is great news for the Iranian Bar and again shows that the new Iranian President rapidly leaves the anti-lawyers policies of his predecessors behind him”, says Phon van den Biesen, President of Lawyers for Lawyers (L4L). “It is not often that a new government reverses the political abuse of the […]
Happy Birthday Le Quoc Quan!
On 27 December 2012, Mr. Le Quoc Quan was arrested by the police in Hanoi while dropping off his daughter at school. The police also searched his office and home and confiscated some documents. They apparently read out a warrant, but did not give it to Mr. Le Quoc Quan’s family. The police told his […]
BMO debatavonden: “Human Rights: What’s your Argument?”
In september start een serie van drie debatavonden onder de titel “Human Rights: What’s your Argument?”. Dit is een initiatief van debatorganisatie Spui25, het Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken en het Breed Mensenrechten Overleg (waar L4L lid van is). De avonden zijn op 24 september, 29 oktober en 21 november, vanaf 20.00 uur bij Spui25 in Amsterdam. […]
Attacks during trial condemned
Lawyers in Kyrgyzstan are regularly threatened and attacked by aggrieved audiences, after and even during court sessions. In the latest incident, on 20 August 2013, two lawyers were physically attacked just after a trial hearing related to the 2010 ethnic clashes. L4L calls on the Kyrgyzstan government to better protect its lawyers and ensure […]
Convicted lawyer Mohammed Al-Mansoori on hunger strike
Lawyer Mohammed Al-Mansoori, one of those convicted in the “UAE 94” case, has, together with 19 other people convicted in this case, been on hunger strike since 31 July 2013 protesting about the mistreatment they continue to be subjected to while in detention. On 2 July 2013, the Federal Supreme Court of the United Arab […]
Houtan Kian free after three years
On 20 August 2013, Houtan Kian was released from Tabriz prison in Iran, where he was detained for the last three years. Houtan Kian became a well-known figure when he took on the case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a woman sentenced to stoning for alleged adultery. Shortly after he became Ashtiani’s lawyer, he was arrested in his office in October 2010 […]
Lawyer Farid Murtazin keeps his license after successful campaign
On 19 August 2013, L4L was informed that Russian lawyer Farid Murtazin could be stripped of his attorney status following a complaint from the Investigative Committee. After several organizations, including Lawyers for Lawyers, appealed against this Murtazin received informal but reliable assurances from the Bar Association (Advokatskaya Palata) that his lawyer’s licence will not be […]
Court deems psychiatric confinement of lawyer legal
A Kazakh court has ruled on 21 August that the forced psychiatric hospitalization of Zinaida Mukhortova is legal, and that she must remain in a psychiatric clinic. Earlier this month, L4L called upon the Kazakh authorities to release Zinaida Mukhortova, as her forced psychiatric confinement seems to be connected to her legitimate activities as a lawyer. In September 2009, […]
Lawyers for Lawyers granted special UN-status
The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) adopted the recommendation of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to grant ‘special consultative status’ to L4L in July 2013. This status is granted to NGOs that focus on certain specific interest areas of ECOSOC. The ECOSOC consultative status gives NGOs the right to participate in UN conferences and meetings, […]