27 January in Geneva: side-event Persecution of Lawyers and Journalists in Turkey
The Law Society of England and Wales, Lawyers for Lawyers, Lawyers Rights Watch Canada, Privacy International, Fair Trial Watch and Media Legal Defence Initiative cordially invite you to join the panel discussion on the Persecution of Lawyers and Journalists in Turkey, Tuesday, 27 January, 2015 12:45 – 14:30 Room XXIII Palais des Nations, Geneva Every four […]
Waleed Abu al-Khair sentenced to 15 years on appeal
Yesterday, on 12 January 2015, the Specialised Criminal Court in Riyadh held a session in which it sentenced prominent human rights lawyer Waleed Abu al-Khair to serve fifteen years in prison; previously this had been fifteen years in prison, with five years suspended, but the court removed the suspension and ordered the full sentence should […]
Souad Al-Shammary arrested, 3 others sentenced
Lawyers for Lawyers has sent a letter to the Saudi Arabic authorities to express its concern about the recent developments in this country. On October 28 the first female lawyer of Saudi Arabia, Souad Al-Shammary, was arrested for tweets she sent in 2013. A day earlier Mr Abdulrahman Al- Subaihi, Mr Bander Alnogaithan, and Mr […]
Gao Zhisheng released from prison
Chinese human rights lawyer, Gao Zhisheng, whose secret detention and alleged torture by Communist authorities prompted an international outcry has been released on 7 August 2014 at the end of his three-year suspended sentence, his wife and a relative said. Zhisheng, who defended some of China’s most vulnerable people including Christians and coal miners, has […]
Waleed Abu al-Khair sentenced to 15 years
On 6 July 2014, the criminal court of Jeddah has convicted human rights lawyer Waleed Abu Al-Khair to a 15 year prison sentence, followed by a 15 year travel ban, and a fine of 200.000 Saudi riyal. On top of that the court ruled that he must stop all his activities on social media. Al-Khair […]
Letter for Zinaida Mukhortova
In a letter Lawyers for Lawyers calls upon the government of Kazakhstan to release Zinaida Mukhortova if her forced psychiatric confinement is connected to her invaluable human rights activities. Reports by Kadyr Kasiyet, a human rights organization based in Kazakhstan, indicate that on July 2, 2014 Zinaida Mukhortova was taken by force by six men, suspected […]
Pakistan Murder of Rashid Rehman and injury to Nadeem Parwaz
L4L has sent letters to the President, several ministers and the Ambassador of Pakistan to ask attention for the assassination of prominent Pakistani human rights lawyer Rashid Rehman Kahn and his colleague Nadeem Parwas and a client who were also injured in the attack. Although the lawyer received several threats earlier and reported them to the authorities, they did not […]
Vietnam Nguyen Van Dai attacked by plainclothes police
On 8 May 2014 human rights lawyer and blogger Nguyen Van Dai was attacked and wounded by a group of six men, when he was in a bar with some colleagues and students. Nguyen Van Dai is, since his return to Vietnam after years in Eastern-Germany, a well-known human rights activist. He has been under […]
Saudi Arabia L4L asks king to release Walleed Abu al-Khair
Amnesty International reports on the prosecution of Walleed Abu al-Khair, prominent human rights lawyer in Saudi Arabia and head of human rights organisation Monitor of Human Rights in Saudi Arabia, for breaking allegiance to and disobeying the ruler, setting up an unlicensed organisation and “participating in establishing another organisation (the Saudi Civil and Political Rights […]
Syria 18 months since enforced disappearance Khalil Ma’touq
More than eighteen months ago, Syrian lawyer Khalil Ma’touq was arrested on his way to work. Since then, the authorities have refused to provide any information 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 of Detainees. […]
China L4L concerned about detention human rights lawyers
L4L has sent a letter to the Chinese authorities to express our grave concerns about the arrest and subsequent detention of four Chinese human rights lawyers, Zhang Junjie, Jiang Tianyong, Wang Chen and Tang Jitian, on 21 March 2014. According to our information, they were arrested while investigating the illegal detention of citizens in a so-called […]
Philippines L4L raises the alarm: Filipino lawyer at risk
L4L and Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada (LRWC) warn in an open letter to President Aquino of the Philippines for the continued labeling of lawyers as enemies of the state by the military. Since March, Atty. Maria Catherine L. Dannug-Salucon has been the subject of death threats, labeling, surveillance and verbal intimidation by military officers. Labeling of […]
Turkey Muharrem Erbey released after 1.570 days in pre-trial detention
1.570 days after Muharrem Erbey was arrested, he is now provisionally released. However, grave concerns about the prominent human rights lawyer remain who is subjected to continuous judicial harassment through terrorism charges that seem to aim at repressing legitimate human rights activities. On 12 April 2014, the Diyarbakir Heavy Penal Court No. 2 decided to […]
Kazakhstan L4L observes trial Lyubov Agushevich and Polina Zhukova
In a brief hearing on 26 March 2014, a judge ruled that Lyubov Agushevich and Polina Zhukova will remain disbarred. L4L was present to observe the trial. The representative of the Kazakhstan Bar argued at the hearing that both lawyers were punished for being active. That seems to be the case as both lawyers were […]
Thailand Ten years since disappearance Somchai Neelapaijit
On 12 March 2014 it was exactly 10 years ago that Thai human rights lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit disappeared. Neelapaijit defended suspects of terrorism in the turbulent south of Thailand. He disappeared on 12 March 2004, shortly after having publicly accused the police of torturing his clients in prison. His car was found empty. Nothing has […]
Turkey Remaining lawyers released from pretrial detention in KCK- and ÇHD trial
After the closure of special courts and the reduction of the limit of lengthy detention to five years on 18 March 2014, nine lawyers and one journalist have been released in the KCK-trial. They were detained since November 2011 awaiting the process against 46 lawyers of the suspects in the KCK trial. On March 18 […]
