Statement on the sentencing of Buzurgmehr Yorov to an additional ten years
Freedom Now and Lawyers for Lawyers strongly condemn the sentencing of Buzurgmehr Yorov on July 10 to an additional ten years in prison on charges of alleged fraud in a joint statement. We call for all charges against Yorov to be dropped and for him to be released from prison unconditionally. The new charges against […]
Egyptian lawyer Mohamed El-Baqer receives presidential pardon
Lawyers for Lawyers welcomes the news that Mohammed El-Baqer, an Egyptian human rights defender and lawyer and Director of Adalah Centre for Rights and Freedoms, received a presidential pardon on 19 July 2023 in criminal case 1228 of 2021. Mr. El-Baqer has been detained since 2019 and was serving a prison sentence for “spreading false […]
UPR Submission Nigeria
On 18 July 2023, Lawyers for Lawyers and IBAHRI submitted a report for the fourth Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Nigeria. The next UPR of Nigeria will take place in January 2024. The primary concern of the UPR is L4L and IBAHRI’s concern regarding Nigeria’s compliance with its international human rights obligations under the International […]
UPR submission Jordan
On 18 July 2023, Lawyers for Lawyers submitted a report for the fourth Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Jordan. The next UPR of Jordan will take place in January 2024. The UPR’s key concern is Jordan’s compliance with its international human rights obligations under the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, specifically with […]
IBAHRI and L4L Statement on the Brutal Assault of Zimbabwean Human Rights Lawyer Obey Shava
The International Bar Association Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) and Lawyers for Lawyers (L4L) wish to express their great concern for the well-being of prominent Zimbabwean human rights lawyer Obey Shava, after he was gravely assaulted near his law firm in Harare, in the early evening of 5 July 2023. Mr Shava, of Shava Law Chambers […]
Oral Statements and Side Event During the 53rd session of the UN Human Rights Council
Lawyers for Lawyers delivered five oral statements during the 53rd session of the Human Rights Council. The oral statements discussed the situation of the legal profession in various countries, such as China, the Philippines, Iran, Belarus, Guatemala, and Sri Lanka. Additionally, during the Human Rights Council session, Lawyers for Lawyers co-sponsored a side event on […]
‘709 Crackdown 2.0’: Global call against China’s renewed crackdown on human rights lawyers
Lawyers for Lawyers, joined by a large group of international organisations, Bar Associations, legal scholars, and Chinese human rights defenders, calls for urgent global attention to the new wave of repression against Chinese human rights lawyers in a joint statement. A pdf version of the full statement, including a list of signatories and an annex […]
Concerns over death threat against Colombian human rights lawyer Adil Meléndez Marquez
Adil José Meléndez Marquez is a prominent Colombian human rights lawyer. He is one of the few lawyers in the country working on land restitution cases, and the prosecution of the (para)military in the northern Bolivar region. He also represents farming communities in their struggle against the extractive activities of multinational companies in Colombia. As […]
The 709-Crackdown, the alarming state of lawyers’ rights in China and Hong Kong, and a new wave of repression
Today, 9 July 2023, marks the 8th anniversary of a nationwide campaign using criminal laws and executive controlled courts to silence lawyers and other human rights activists through arbitrary arrests, detentions, convictions, and imprisonment. Starting on 9 July 2015 the Chinese government arrested over 300 lawyers and activists during this campaign, which has become known […]
Dual interview with Mr Brandon Abdinor and Ms Thobeka Gumede, lawyers at the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) in South Africa: “It is sometimes easier to engage with communities who are already impacted and that is so unfortunate”
Brandon Abdinor became aware of the dependency of the world civilization on fossil fuels at a young age and is now a passionate climate advocacy lawyer. Thobeka Gumede initially chose environmental law out of curiosity, as it was the least chosen topic in law school. It opened her eyes to environmental abuses, including in her […]
Interview Nihalsing Rathod: ‘Even in prison, Gadling does good things’
Indian human rights lawyer Nihalsing Rathod talks about his confrere Surendra Gadling, who has been detained since 2018. ‘He is a legend.’ ‘I am an ex-criminal,’ says lawyer Nihalsing Rathod with irony in a Zoom interview, ‘I belong to a tribe that was labeled criminal by the British in 1871.’ Although ‘untouchability’ was formally abolished […]
Concerns over the designation of Russian lawyer Ilya Novikov as ‘foreign agent’ and his disbarment
On June 16, the Russian human rights lawyer Ilya Novikov was stripped of his license to practice law by the Chamber of Attorneys of Moscow. Allegedly ‘indecent behavior leading to disruption of trust’ led to the decision. This was based on an interview which Mr Novikov gave to the Popular Politics YouTube Channel, in which […]
Joint statement on Chinese lawyer Li Heping
We are deeply concerned about the recent interception of Chinese human rights lawyer Li Heping and his family, who were prevented from leaving the country by border police at Chengdu’s Tianfu International Airport on June 9th. They were subjected to travel restrictions on the grounds that their departure might endanger national security. These restrictions amount […]
Statement on the arbitrary arrest of Georgian lawyer Eduard Marikashvili
Georgian lawyer and human rights defender Eduard Marikashvili has been arrested during a demonstration in front of the parliament building in Tblisi, Georgia. He was arrested for hooliganism and disobedience of legal order of the police under articles 166 and 173 of the Administrative Offences Code of Georgia. His hearing before the Tblisi Citi Court […]
Launch report on Myanmar by Human Rights Watch: “Our Numbers Are Dwindling”
Lawyers for Lawyers is concerned about the situation of lawyers in Myanmar. Since the military coup – that took place on February 1, 2021 – dozens of lawyers are being held back by the State Administration Council (SAC) junta in doing their job: they face restrictions and systematic obstacles imposed by military authorities. Even worse, […]
Joint statement ongoing trial Hejaaz Hizbullah
Lawyers for Lawyers, the Bar Human Rights Committee, the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Committee (IBAHRI), International Commission of Jurists, the Law Society of England and Wales, and Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) are concerned about the ongoing violations of fair trial […]
