Calls upon authorities to investigate Markelov’s death
In a letter dated 21 January 2009, L4L has demanded an investigation into the murder of human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov. In addition, the lack of governmental protection for Markelov must be explained. The Russian human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov (34) and Anastasia Baburova (25), a freelance journalist for the critical newspaper Novaja Gazeta, were […]
Defender of indigenous Maya people Fausto Otzín killed
On 18 October 2009, lawyer and defender of indigenous Maya population’s rights Fausto Otzín disappeared. He was last seen in in San Juán Comalapa, Chimaltenango, and found near his home a day later. He endured serious injuries because he had been attacked and jabbed in the face and back with machetes, and as a consequence, […]
Advocaat en journalist op straat vermoord
Stanislav Markelov, een prominent mensenrechtenadvocaat, is in de middag van 19 januari in de buurt van het metrostation ‘Kropotkinskaja’ in Moskou doodgeschoten. Volgens ooggetuigen schoot de dader de advocaat in het hoofd met een van een knaldemper voorzien pistool. Een medewerkster van de krant Novaja Gazeta, Anastasija Baburova, die op dat moment naast Markelov stond, […]
De positie van mensenrechtenverdedigers staat nog altijd onder druk
Het kantoor van de Iraanse Nobelprijswinnaar voor de Vrede van 2003 Shirin Ebadi werd op 1 januari 2009 door betogers beklad met leuzen. Tien dagen eerder was het kantoor van het Defenders of Human Rights Centre (DHRC), geleid door Shirin Ebadi, in Teheran gesloten wegens ontbrekende vergunningen. Ebadi’s organisatie had juist die dag een activiteit […]
Moorden zijn “ernstige bedreiging rechtsstaat”
Speciaal Rapporteur van de Verenigde Naties Philip Alston wil een onafhankelijk onderzoek naar de moord op Oscar Kamau King’ara en John Paul Oulu op 5 maart 2009 in de hoofdstad van Kenia, Nairobi. King’ara was advocaat, oprichter en directeur van de Oscar Foundation Free Legal Aid Clinic. De Oscar Foundation is een geregistreerde liefdadigheidsinstelling die […]
Prosecutor reacts on call for investigation into assassination Markelov
In April, L4L received an answer (original, translation) from the Russian National Office of the Public Prosecution Service to its letter dated 21 January 2009 concerning the assassination of the Russian lawyer Markelov. The letter states that the Public Prosecutor of Moscow has filed a criminal case based on article 105 paragraph 1, article 30 […]
Dutch government concerned about fate Haitham al-Maleh
The Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Verhagen, has expressed his concern about the fate of the 78 year old Syrian lawyer Haitham Al-Maleh on 10 December 2009. According to Verhagen “it would be a nice gesture of the Syrian authorities to no longer detain Al-Maleh in a prison but to enable him to await […]
Lawyer has to flee country
The renowned lawyer and human rights activist Ariyaratne received death threats so serious that he had to flee his home country of Sri Lanka. L4L provided the financial resources for his escape. Mr. Ariyaratne has been a lawyer in Sri Lanka for more than 15 years. He acts, among others, for Right to Life, an […]
Marokko NOVA en Dichtbij Nederland besteden aandacht aan het lot van Kanjaa
Abdellatif Kanjaa schreef in 2006 samen met twee andere advocaten uit het district Tetouan een open brief over de integriteit van de rechterlijke macht in Marokko. Daarin uitten zij kritiek op de corruptie die volgens hen plaatsvindt in een deel van de rechterlijke macht, in het bijzonder bij het Gerechtshof van Tetouan. Op 13 juli […]
Mohamed Abbou’s travel ban lifted
Mohamed Abbou was informed by the Tunisian Ministry of Justice and Human Rights on 28 March 2009 that he is permitted to travel abroad freely again. In 2005, after a trial that breached standards of due process, Mohamed Abbou was sentenced to three and a half years imprisonment for committing libel. According to Abbou and […]
L4L nieuwsflits
Op 30 maart 2009 verscheen de eerste Nieuwsflits van L4L waarin wij u op de hoogte willen stellen van de zaken waar L4L zich de laatste tijd mee bezig heeft gehouden. U kunt zich hier aanmelden voor de Nieuwsflits.
Also lawyers among vitims of Maguindanao massacre
“If they can kill lawyers, they can kill practically anybody.” That is what lawyer Concepcion (‘Conny’) Brizuela stated in a conversation with the members of the L4L mission investigating extrajudicial killings of lawyers and judges on the Philippines in November 2008. Conny also told that she had moved to another island of the Philippines because […]
Letter writing action for Chinese lawyer
On November 23, 2009, Chinese lawyer Huang Qi was sentenced to three years of imprisonment. He was convicted for illegal possession of state secrets. Human rights organizations, including L4L, assume that Huang Qi’s conviction is connected to his work for relatives of the earthquake victims in Sichuan, May 2008. This matter seems to be highly […]
Dutch ‘Human Rights Tulip’ 2009 awarded to Shadi Sadr
As a lawyer, journalist and researcher, Shadi Sadr has dedicated herself to the rights of women in Iran. “Shadi Sadr receives the Human Rights Tulip for her outstanding courage, firmness and work in a climate of very critical and repeated violations of human rights”, said Minister Verhagen (Foreign Affairs). As a lawyer, Sadr defends women’s […]
Meeting with Colombian lawyers
On 6 November 2009 L4L had a meeting with Colombian human rights lawyers Eduardo Carreño of the Lawyers’ Collective José Alvear Restrepo (CAJAR), and Agustín Jimenez of the Committee for Solidarity with Political Prisoners (CSPP). Both have devoted themselves to the improvement of the situation of citizens in Colombia whose human rights are not respected. […]
Abdellatif Kanjaa reinstated as lawyer after court victory in Rabat
Recently, Abdellatif Kanjaa informed L4L that he has regained permission to practice as a lawyer. This is the outcome of a judgment of the Court of Appeal in Rabat on 29 October 2009. Kanjaa writes that “the Court agrees that I am again permitted to practice my profession as a lawyer.” He believes the judgment […]