Lawyers for Lawyers and ABA CHR sumbit report on Belarus to OHCHR
5 January 2022

Lawyers for Lawyers and ABA CHR sumbit report on Belarus to OHCHR

Belarus

Lawyers for Lawyers handed in a submission on Belarus to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). For this submission, the OHCHR invited individuals, groups, and organizations to submit information and documentation relevant to the mandate of the examination of the human rights situation in Belarus. It aims to include information related to human rights violations committed in Belarus since 1 May 2020.

In this context, Lawyers for Lawyers and the American Bar Association Center for Human Rights (ABA CHR) submitted a report on the situation of lawyers in Belarus in the aftermath of the presidential elections in August 2020. The submission highlights that lawyers in Belarus working on sensitive cases have been the subject of judicial harassment, arbitrary arrests, detention, administrative sanctions, criminal prosecution, and disciplinary sanctions – including disbarment. The amendments to the Law on the Bar and Advocacy in Belarus, that entered into force in November 2021 and infringe the independence of the legal profession and undermine the rule of law are also highlighted.

Belarusian authorities have failed to fulfil their duty to protect lawyers from such harassment and sanctions for performing their professional activities. As a result, lawyers in Belarus are effectively prohibited from carrying out their professional duties independently and are unable to ensure the fair and effective administration of justice and adherence to the rule of law.

Meer nieuws uit Belarus

26 June 2024

International Day in Support of Victims of Torture: public letter to the Belarusian authorities on the continued incommunicado detention of Maksim Znak

Belarus

On 26 June, the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, Lawyers for Lawyers expresses concern over the continued incommunicado detention of lawyer Maksim Znak. According to information received, Mr Znak has now been refused access to his family

Lees verder
16 April 2024

‘Flight to Lithuania’ — interview with Natalia Matskevich and Paulius Griciunas

Belarus

A new law has been passed in Lithuania which allows lawyers from outside the European Union to register as third-party lawyers in Lithuania. This legislative advance is of great symbolic importance according to Belarusian lawyer Natalia Matskevich. By Trudeke Sillevis

Lees verder
21 March 2024

Joint oral statement to Human Rights Council on Belarus

Belarus

On 19 March 2024, Lawyers for Lawyers, the Law Society of England and Wales, and the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute delivered an oral statement during the interactive dialogue on the interim oral update of the High Commissioner on the situation of

Lees verder
7 February 2024

Report on Belarus: The Crisis of the Legal Profession Continued Repressions 2022 – 2023

Belarus

In cooperation with the American Bar Association (ABA) and the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), the Center for Constitutionalism and Human Rights, Right to Defense, and Lawyers for Lawyers have prepared this report to summarize the ongoing worrying

Lees verder