Bar Associations of Ankara and Diyarbakir under investigation
The Chief Public Prosecutor’s Offices of Ankara and Diyarbakir have initiated ex officio investigations against the Ankara Bar Association and the Diyarbakir Bar Association because of their statements denouncing Turkey’s top mufti Ali Erbaş. This has been reported by the Arrested Lawyers Initiative. During his Friday sermon on 24 April 2020, Turkey’s top mufti Ali […]
Wang Quanzhang reunited with his family in Bejing
Chinese human rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang was finally reunited with his family in their house in Beijing after he served a four-and-a-half–year prison sentence. Photo taken from AsiaNews.it After his release from prison on 5 April 2020, Wang Quanzhang was being held in quarantine in Jinan, Shangdong province for a period of 14 days as a […]
House of Esteban Celada raided and vandalized
On 22 April 2020, the house of human rights lawyer Esteban Celada from Guatemala was raided and vandalized by unknown individuals whilst the lawyer was at work. This is the third raid on his home in less than five months. This was reported by Front Line Defenders. Esteban Emanuel Celada Flores is a human rights lawyer […]
Zyad al-Elaimy has been added to Egypt’s ‘terrorist list’
On 18 april 2020, Cairo’s Criminal Court has ordered to put human rights lawyer Zyad el-Elaimy and 12 other detainees on Egypt’s ‘terrorist list’ for a period of five years. This was reported by the FIDH. Zyad al-Elaimy is a human rights lawyer, former MP and one of the leaders of the Egyptian Social Democratic […]
UN urges Iran to immediately release amongst others prisoners of conscience at risk of COVID-19
Lawyers for Lawyers welcomes the initiative from UN human rights experts on 17 April 2020 to call on Iran to expand its temporary release of thousands of detainees to include prisoners of conscience and dual and foreign nationals still being held despite serious risk of COVID-19 infection. Iran has been hit hard by COVID-19 and […]
Concerns about the arrest of lawyer Hejaaz Hizbullah
Lawyers for Lawyers is concerned about the arrest and detention of Sri Lankan Attorney-at-Law Hejaaz Hizbullah. According to our information, Hejaaz Hizbullah was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) on 14 April 2020, reportedly under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. No reasons were provided to Hejaaz Hizbullah or his family at the time of […]
Hong Kong arrests three lawyers and other human rights defenders on charges of illegal assembly
On 18 April 2020, 15 pro-democracy figures, including three lawyers, were arrested in Hong Kong for their alleged role in ”organizing and participating in unlawful assemblies” in August and October 2019. The arrest took place just hours after China’s top representative office in the semi-autonomous city declared it is not bound by Hong Kong’s constitutional […]
Lawyers for Lawyers volunteer visits the DRC
During a recent visit to Kinshasha, Democratic Republic of Congo, one of our volunteers, Paul Deza de Massiac, spoke to a number of stakeholders in the field including H.E. Minister in charge of handicapped persons Irène Esambo, Défense de la Défense representatives and Université Catholique du Congo professors. During the meetings, the current situation of […]
Joint statement on Wang Quanzhang’s personal freedom after his release
Lawyers for Lawyers, together with 36 other signatories including amongst others human rights organisations, bar associations and individual signatories, urged the Chinese authorities to ensure Wang Quanzhang’s personal freedom after his release and his right to reunite with his family in Beijing in a joint statement. On 5 April 2020 Chinese human rights lawyer Wang […]
Letter on the continuing attacks against lawyers and the killing of Atty. Dalangin in the Philippines
In a letter to the authorities of the Philippines, Lawyers for Lawyers expressed its concern about the increasing attacks against and the continued killings of lawyers. One of the recently killed lawyers is Bayani Dalangin. Wilson Chua, the president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Nueva Ecija Chapter Bayani Dalangin said in a […]
Joint letter on actions taken against Ding Jiaxi and Qin Yongpei
In a joint letter Lawyers for Lawyers and China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group expressed concerns about the actions that were taken against Chinese human rights lawyers Ding Jiaxi and Qin Yongpei. In December 2019, both Chinese lawyers Ding Jiaxi and Qin Yongpei were arrested by the Chinese police for “inciting subversion of state […]
Letter on the ongoing detention and judicial harassment of Qin Yongpei
In a letter to the Chinese authorities Lawyers for Lawyers expressed concern about the ongoing detention and judicial harassment of Chinese human rights lawyer Qin Yongpei. Foto taken from Front Line Defenders In his legal career, Qin Yongpei has defended various other human rights lawyers facing reprisals from the authorities, provided legal assistance to vulnerable […]
Monitoring of lawyer Daniel Prado
In a letter to the Colombian authorities Lawyers for Lawyers expressed concern about the safety and monitoring of human rights lawyer Daniel Prado. Daniel Prado is a lawyer with the Colombian NGO Inter-Church Commission for Justice and Peace (CIJP). For more than twenty years the CIJP has defended human rights and accompanied victims of human rights […]
Lawyers from Progressive Lawyers Association (ÇHD) on hunger strike
It has been reported that Ebru Timtik, Barkın Timtik, Oya Aslan and Aytaç Ünsal from the Progressive Lawyers Association (ÇHD) in Turkey have been on hunger strike for more than two months to support their demand for a fair trial. Photo taken from the ÇHD The lawyers started their hunger strike on 3 February 2020, in protest […]
First quarterly update: #FreeTheLawyers Campaign
In order to provide protective publicity and support to lawyers who are serving long prison sentences, Lawyers for Lawyers has launched the worldwide two-year long #FreeTheLawyers Campaign on 10 December 2019. The campaign consists of a series of activities, including interventions, social media campaigns, individual petitions and submissions as well as advocacy on targeted cases […]
Call for release imprisoned Egypt human rights lawyers amid COVID-19 crisis
In view of serious threats to life and health, Lawyers for Lawyers calls upon Egypt to immediately release all human rights lawyers unjustly jailed in Egypt amid the global COVID-19 crisis. Unjustly jailed lawyers include Mohsen Bahnasi, Zyad el-Elaimy, Mahienour El-Massry, Amr Imam, Mohamed El-Baqer, Ibrahim Metwally, Hoda Abdel-Moneim, Haytham Mohadeen, Mohamad Ramadan and Gamel […]
