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Iran Release Nasrin Sotoudeh great news for legal profession in Iran

“The release of Nasrin Sotoudeh is great news for the Iranian Bar and again shows that the new Iranian President rapidly leaves the anti-lawyers policies of his predecessors behind him”, says Phon van den Biesen, President of Lawyers for Lawyers

Vietnam Happy Birthday Le Quoc Quan!

On 27 December 2012, Mr. Le Quoc Quan was arrested by the police in Hanoi while dropping off his daughter at school. The police also searched his office and home and confiscated some documents. They apparently read out a warrant,

Kyrgyzstan L4L condemns attacks during trial

  Lawyers in Kyrgyzstan are regularly threatened and attacked by aggrieved audiences, after and even during court sessions. In the latest incident, on 20 August 2013, two lawyers were physically attacked just after a trial hearing related to the 2010

UAE Convicted lawyer on hunger strike

Lawyer Mohammed Al-Mansoori, one of those  convicted in the “UAE 94” case, has, together with 19 other people convicted in this case, been on hunger strike  since 31 July 2013 protesting about the mistreatment they continue to be subjected to

Iran Houtan Kian free after three years

On 20 August 2013, Houtan Kian was released from Tabriz prison in Iran, where he was detained for the last three years. Houtan Kian became a well-known figure when he took on the case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a woman sentenced to stoning

Lawyer keeps his license after successful campaign

Russian Federation

On 19 August 2013, L4L was informed that Russian lawyer Farid Murtazin could be stripped of his attorney status following a complaint from the Investigative Committee.  After several organizations, including Lawyers for Lawyers, appealed against this Murtazin received informal but

Kazakhstan Court deems psychiatric confinement of lawyer legal

A Kazakh court has ruled on 21 August that the forced psychiatric hospitalization of Zinaida Mukhortova is legal, and that she must remain in a psychiatric clinic. Earlier this month, L4L called upon the Kazakh authorities to release Zinaida Mukhortova, as her forced

Kazakhstan Forced psychiatric confinement of Zinaida Mukhortova

  Forced psychiatric confinement was a well-known tactic under the Soviet-rule to silence regime critics or perceived troublemakers. With the end of the Soviet-system this tactic has unfortunately not disappeared. The case of Zinaida Mukhortova demonstrates that in Kazakhstan it is still used

Bahrain Lawyer arrested after making public torture of client

On 8 August 2013, lawyer Abdul Aziz Moussa was taken into custody on claims of ‘disclosing confidential information about the investigation’ against his client. The day before, Moussa had reported visible signs of torture on his client’s arms on his

Lawyer from Dagestan killed

Russian Federation

On 12 July 2013, lawyer Magomed Guchuchaliev was killed by two unknown men in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan. His killing seems to be related to his work. Lawyers in the North Caucasus and criminal defence lawyers in particular, are increasingly

Philippines Lawyers face false charges, labeling as ‘enemies of the state’ continues

The Dutch foundation Lawyers for Lawyers warns in an open letter to President Aquino of the Philippines for the continued labeling of lawyers as enemies of the state by the military. This month, Army chief Lt. Gen. Noel Coballes reportedly

Cameroon Office of Michel Togué searched

In the night of 16 on 17 June, the office of Michel Togué in Yaoundé was broken into and searched by several unidentified persons. His passport, laptop and a data carrier with confidential information, among other things, were stolen. He filed