Turkey New mass arrests of lawyers
Early in the morning of 18 January 2013, police forces launched raids in seven provinces of Turkey. It is understood that during these raids, at least fifty-five people, including 15 lawyers, have been taken into custody on suspicion of links with the left group DHKPC. Nine of these fifteen lawyers are reportedly members of the Progressive Lawyers’ […]
Syria Mazen Darwish recipient of Prize for Press Freedom 2012
On 19 December Mazen Darwish was announced as one of the recipients of the ‘Reporters without Borders’ 2012 Prize for Press Freedom. Mazen Darwish is a human rights defender and journalist from Syria. Even though he finished a law degree, he was, due to his human rights activities, never accepted at the Syrian Bar Association to work […]
Turkey L4L monitors another hearing in ‘Lawyers trial’
On 3 January 2013, the trial against 46 lawyers who are suspected of having ties with the Union of Communities in Kurdistan (KCK) continued in Silivri, Turkey. On November 22, 2011, a broad campaign of arrests was launched in 16 cities targeting 46 lawyers, in the context of the case against the Koma Civakên Kurdistan […]
L4L Update of Basic Principles Database
Over the last weeks, the database on the L4L website that contains documents that make reference to the Basic Principles on the role of Lawyers has been updated. Over fifty recent documents have been added to the Database. The UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers provide a concise description of international norms relating […]
L4L Human rights day 2012
On the 10th of December Kennedy Van der Laan organized an event on Human Rights Day 2012, together with the Dutch foundations Lawyers for Lawyers and Judges for Judges. The theme of this day was “the independence of judges, lawyers and prosecutors guaranteed” and sprouted from the idea of the Special Rapporteur, Gabriela Knaul,on the […]
Iran Nasrin Sotoudeh ends hunger strike
L4L is pleased to announce that we have learned from sources that jailed Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has halted her hunger strike on 4 December 2012. She decided to end the hunger strike that lasted for 49 days after the Iranian judiciary agreed to drop a travel ban against her daughter and her […]
Iran Lawyers present petition to Iranian Embassy for Sotoudeh
On Monday 26 November, a group of lawyers on the initiative of Lawyers for Lawyers offered a petition to the Iranian Embassy in The Hague, the Netherlands, in order to draw attention to the deteriorating health situation of Nasrin Sotoudeh, who has been on hunger strike since 17 October. Unfortunately the lawyers were not received at the embassy, upon which […]
UAE Human rights lawyer Al-Roken still in prison
On 17 July 2012, Mohamed Al-Roken, a prominent human rights lawyer from the United Arab Emirates, was arrested near his home by security forces. Dr Mohamed Al-Roken provided legal assistance to victims of human rights abuses in the UAE, including to other human rights defenders. Before he was arrested, he defended the “UAE 5” ; […]
Turkey L4L monitors another hearing in ‘Lawyers trial’
On 6,7 and 8 November 2012, the trial against 46 lawyers who are suspected of having ties with the Union of Communities in Kurdistan (KCK) continued in Silivri, Turkey. On November 22, 2011, a broad campaign of arrests was launched in 16 cities targeting 46 lawyers, in the context of the case against the Koma […]
Vietnam Joint letter for Le Cong Dinh
On 16 November 2012, L4L, together with Lawyers Rights Watch Canada (LWRC) and The Law Society of England and Wales (The Society), sent a letter to the Vietnamese authorities and to the UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers. In this letter the organizations asked for attention for the situation of Le […]
Iran Fourth week of hunger strike of Nasrin Sotoudeh
On 17 October 2012, Iranian human rights defender and lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh began a hunger strike to protest against the harassment by judicial authorities towards her family. Recently, Sotoudeh’s 12-year-old daughter was summoned by authorities and informed that she was banned from traveling outside the country. Furthermore, visits to Sotoudeh by her mother and brother have […]
Haiti Joint letter for Mario Joseph, Newton St-Juste and André Michel
On 26 October 2012, L4L, together with Lawyers Rights Watch Canada (LWRC), sent a letter to the Haitian authorities urging them to immediately, independently and thoroughly investigate the threats and acts of intimidation towards Mario Joseph, Newton St-Juste and André Michel, to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice and to provide effective protection to these lawyers. Mario […]
Iran Nasrin Sotoudeh awarded Sakhorov price
This year’s Sakhorov Price was awarded to two Iranian activists, including human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh. Nasrin Sotoudeh defended many of the human rights activists who were arrested after the presidential elections in June 2009. She also defended Shirin Ebadi, the human rights lawyer and Nobel laureate who co-founded the Defenders for Human Rights Center. She also acted […]
Iran Statement Nasrin Sotoudeh read out during MEA ceremony
On 2 October 2012 the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders (MEA) was presented in Geneva. The goal of the MEA is to extend recognition and protective publicity to those who are currently involved in front line work for the promotion and protection of human rights. This year, Nasrin Sotoudeh was one of the […]
Colombia Lawyer David Teleki asks for help in establishing Colombian Bar Association
Colombian lawyer David Teleki visited the Netherlands on 10, 11 and 12 October 2012. Teleki works in Colombia as a criminal lawyer. Among others he stood by Jesse Quintero, one of the defendants in the Colmenares-process. Teleki received many threats via telephone and social media from the moment he started working on this case. IN order […]
Turkey L4L monitors trial session Filiz Kalayci
On 11 October 2012 another hearing took place in Ankara in the trial against Filiz Kalayci. L4L was present to monitor the hearing. Filiz Kalayci worked mostly on human rights issues. Throughout the 13 years she worked as a lawyer in Turkey, Kalayci has been tried, threatened and imprisoned. On May 12, 2009 Filiz Kalayci was, together with […]
