Iran 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 […]
Vietnam 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 onder de titel “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. […]
Kyrgyzstan L4L condemns attacks during trial
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 […]
UAE Convicted lawyer 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 […]
Iran 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 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 […]
Kazakhstan 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, […]
L4L 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, […]
Kazakhstan Forced psychiatric confinement of Zinaida Mukhortova
Forced psychiatric confinement was a well-known tactic under the Soviet-rule to silence regime critics or perceived troublemakers. With the end of the Soviet-system this tactic has unfortunately not disappeared. The case of Zinaida Mukhortova demonstrates that in Kazakhstan it is still used to silence human rights lawyers. On the evening of 9 August 2013, four police […]
Bahrain Lawyer arrested after making public torture of client
On 8 August 2013, lawyer Abdul Aziz Moussa was taken into custody on claims of ‘disclosing confidential information about the investigation’ against his client. The day before, Moussa had reported visible signs of torture on his client’s arms on his Twitter account, confirming his client’s earlier reports that he had been subjected to torture while […]
Lawyer from Dagestan killed
On 12 July 2013, lawyer Magomed Guchuchaliev was killed by two unknown men in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan. His killing seems to be related to his work. Lawyers in the North Caucasus and criminal defence lawyers in particular, are increasingly subjected to threats and acts of harassment by members of legal enforcement agencies and unknown […]
Philippines Lawyers face false charges, labeling as ‘enemies of the state’ continues
The Dutch foundation Lawyers for Lawyers warns in an open letter to President Aquino of the Philippines for the continued labeling of lawyers as enemies of the state by the military. This month, Army chief Lt. Gen. Noel Coballes reportedly branded the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) as an ‘enemy’ in reaction to NUPL’s criticism […]
Cameroon Office of Michel Togué searched
In the night of 16 on 17 June, the office of Michel Togué in Yaoundé was broken into and searched by several unidentified persons. His passport, laptop and a data carrier with confidential information, among other things, were stolen. He filed a complaint with the police. Michel Togué, who recently spoke to L4L in the Netherlands, defends […]
L4L Vacature penningmeester
L4L zoekt een nieuwe penningmeester vanwege het vólmaken van de toegezegde periode door de huidige penningmeester. De nadruk in deze functie ligt op het opstellen en verantwoorden van de financiële planning en rapportage (i.s.m. de boekhouder) en het samen met bestuur en directeur formuleren van financieel beleid, inclusief fondsenwerving. Advocaten voor Advocaten (Lawyers for Lawyers, L4L) zet […]
Kazakhstan Vadim Kuramshin to be awarded Ludovic Trarieux prize
On 20 June, the jury of the Ludovic Trarieux human rights prize announced that this year’s laureate is Vadim Kuramshin from Kazakhstan. He is a prominent lawyer and human rights defender, who currently serves a 12 year prison sentence. He defended, among others, victims of mistreatment in prison and investigated the murders of other prisoners. […]
