Another hearing in trial Al-Hassani observed
L4L again sent a delegation to observe a hearing in the trial against Syrian lawyer Muhanad al-Hassani on 10 June 2010. This time, they had been sent on behalf of the Amsterdam and Dutch Bar Associations as well. After the hearing, they had a conversation with the presiding judge, just like last time, to whom […]
Jaarverslag 2009
Ook in 2009 werd duidelijk dat veel advocaten hun beroep nog altijd niet in vrijheid kunnen uitoefenen. L4L heeft zich daarom ingezet voor advocaten in onder meer Birma, Cambodja, China, Colombia, Filippijnen, Guatemala, Iran, Kenia, Libanon, Marokko, Pakistan, Peru, Russische Federatie, Soedan, Sri Lanka, Syrië, Tunesië, Vietnam en Zimbabwe. Download voor meer informatie het jaarverslag. […]
Shadi Sadr convicted to 6 years and 74 lashes
Shadi Sadr, the Iranian lawyer who received several human rights awards including the Dutch Tulip for Human Rights in 2009, has been sentenced in absentia to a prison term of 6 years and 74 lashes on 16 May 2010. As a lawyer, journalist and investigator, she has diligently fought for the rights of women in […]
Mohammad Olyaeifard sentenced to 1 year in prison
Mohammad Olyaeifard started serving a one year sentence on 1 May 2010. He was arrested because of an interview in which he spoke out against the execution of one of his clients, Behnoud Shojaee. Shojaee was 17 years old at the time of the murder he was eventually hanged for, and thus a minor according […]
Mexico L4L comes to action for Alba Cruz
L4L spoke to Mexican lawyer Alba Cruz Ramos on May 3rd, 2010. Because of Alba’s work, many political prisoners in the Oaxaca region have been released. In a case started by Alba and her Comité 25 Noviembre colleagues, the Mexican Supreme Court ruled that the governor of Oaxaca and 8 others are to be held […]
Amsterdam Dean and L4L attend trial Al Hassani
On 4 May 2010 the President of the Amsterdam Bar Associaton Germ Kemper and L4L board member Joost Italianer attended the trial against Syrian lawyer and human rights activist Muhanad al-Hassani in Damascus. He was arrested in July 2009 and has been held under difficult circumstances ever since. What’s more, the Bar Association has disbarred […]
Vanished again: the mysterious disappearance of human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng
Gao Zhisheng, one of China’s best known human rights lawyers who had earlier been missing for fourteen months, has disappeared again after being free for several months. The first sign of life was heard half March 2010, when it became clear that he had been held in detention. Two weeks later Gao spoke to journalists […]
Advocaat Weliamuna geïntimideerd
De Sri Lankese advocaat J.C. Weliamuna, tevens directeur van de Sri Lankese tak van de anti-corruptieorganisatie Transparency International (TISL), lijkt het doelwit te zijn van een intimidatiecampagne door de autoriteiten. Op 2 maart 2010 publiceerde een nieuwswebsite een lijst met namen van mensenrechtenverdedigers en journalisten die vermoedelijk door de Sri Lankese inlichtingendienst was gelekt naar […]
Trials against Al-Hassani and Al-Maleh commence
On 10 March 2010 the trial against the Syrian human rights lawyer Muhanad al-Hassani, who was arrested on 28 July 2009 by national security forces, commenced. The start of the trial against the 79-year-old lawyer Haitham al-Maleh, who was arrested on 14 October 2009, is due this spring. Both lawyers face 15 years imprisonment. Human […]
Advocaat Juan Antonio Chea vermoord
De Inter-Amerikaanse Commissie voor Mensenrechten (IACHR) slaat alarm naar aanleiding van een viertal moorden op mensenrechtenactivisten in Guatemala waarover zij werd ingelicht. De moorden hebben plaatsgevonden na 1 januari 2010. Onder de slachtoffers bevond zich Juan Antonio Chea, een advocaat van Maya-afkomst, werkzaam bij het ODHA, het Mensenrechtenbureau van het Aartsbisdom van Guatemala, en als […]
Women’s rights lawyer Maryam Ghanbari arrested
On 8 February 2010, Maryam Ghanbari, a 27-year-old lawyer and active member of Meydaan (Women’s Field), was arrested in her home in Tehran by five Iranian officers. She is being held in the notorious Evin prison. Maryam Ghanbari takes part in the Volunteer Lawyers Network (a voluntary law service for vulnerable women) and is actively […]
Gao Zhisheng is still missing after one year
On 1 February 2009, human rights lawyer and well-known critic of the Communist Party, Gao Zhisheng, was taken by plainclothes policemen. Nothing has been heard of him since. According to his brother, the police have stated that Gao ‘lost his way and went missing’. The fact that it is not clear for Gao’s family and […]
Le Cong Dinh sentenced to 5-year prison sentence
On 20 January 2010, prominent human rights lawyer Le Cong Dinh was sentenced to 5 years in prison. In recent years he has defended journalists, writers, human rights activists, bloggers and lawyers. He also regularly published through media that are deemed ‘subversive’ by the Vietnamese government. On 13 June 2009 members of the Vietnamese security […]
Anwar Al-Bunni remains in detention
Syrian lawyer Anwar al-Bunni remains detained in the notorious Adra-prison, located just outside Damascus. It is reported that Anwar al-Bunni has been imprisoned in harsh conditions and has been subjected to abuse by his prison guards. In April 2007 Anwar has been sentenced to five years in prison for ‘spreading of false information’. Al-Bunni was […]
Alec Muchadehama acquitted
Alec Muchadehama was on trial because of supposed contempt of Court. In June 2009, his prosecution was initiated because he supposedly was involved in the ‘illegal release’ of journalist Andrison Manyere and two members of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the political party that was founded in 1999 to oppose the government of President […]
Lawyer Jorge Molano victim of threat and intimidation
Jorge Eliecer Molano Rodriguez is a Colombian lawyer who provides legal assistance to various human rights organizations in Colombia. Molano Rodríguez also assists victims and relatives in for instance the case of enforced disappearances of 11 people after the events that occured at the Palace of Justice in Bogotá on 6 and 7 November 1985. […]