L4L Submissions on Iran and Vietnam at HRC

L4L has together with Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada (LRWC) filed two submissions for the Human Rights Council on Iran and Vietnam.

Submission Iran

In the submission on Iran, that was co-signed by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), we ask attention for the wrongful prosecution and imprisonment of lawyers in Iran. Lawyers in Iran are subjected to politically motivated prosecutions and to arbitrary detention for exercising protected freedoms of expression and association and for carrying out their legitimate legal work. Imprisoned lawyers were denied access to medical attention and access to legal representation.

LRWC, L4L and the ALRC urge the Human Rights Council to call on Iran to, among others things:
– Allow a visit and investigation by the Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers;
– Ensure the release of any of the following lawyers still in prison: Abdolfattah Soltani, Afshin Karampour, Amir Eslami, Mustafa Daneshju, Omid Behrouzi, Farshid Yadollahi, Kambiz Norouzi, Mohammed Seyfzadeh, Mohammed Ali Dadkhah; Javid Houtan Kian, Hemid Valai, Hassan Sarchahi and Kambiz Norouzi;
– Ensure the immediate release of all other lawyers currently imprisoned for discharging their professional duties;
– Respect Iran’s international law obligations to provide adequate medical treatment for detained lawyers and other prisoners.

You can find the full submission here.

Submission Vietnam

L4L and LRWC ask attention for the fact that Viet Nam is violating its international human rights obligations including the obligation to protect and ensure freedoms of expression, association and assembly for lawyers and other human rights defenders and is subjecting them to wrongful prosecutions, unfair trials falling far short of international standards of fairness and arbitrary detention.

In the submission L4L and LRWC call for example upon the Human Rights Council to take measures to ensure:
– The pledge of Viet Nam to comply with the ICCPR and the United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers;
– Viet Nam reviews and commutes the sentences of Mr. Nguyen Van Dai, Mr. Le Cong Dinh and Mr. Le Quoc Quan and ensures their immediate release from prison and from house arrest, and re-instates their law practice certificates;
– Viet Nam reviews the order that Mr. Cù Huy Hà Vũ must go into exile.

You can find the full submission here.

The 47 Member States of the Human Rights Council will get together between 10 and 27 June in Geneva to discuss human rights developments worldwide.