We support lawyers under threat and generate international attention

Defend

Lawyers across the globe are looking to us for support. We travel to monitor their trials, we advocate for their cases locally, as well as with the United Nations or the European Union. We also publish reports and focus attention on lawyers who have been jailed for their work.

Through our ‘defend’ program, we defend individual lawyers at risk globally to end, mitigate, or prevent reprisals against them for doing their jobs and ensure accountability where such reprisals occur. We’ll do so by:

  • Providing tailor-made support to individual lawyers at risk, guided by the lawyers concerned or their representatives.
  • Monitoring and highlighting violations of lawyers’ rights.
  • Conducting advocacy on targeted impunity cases.
  • Building networks and alliances to act in coordination and solidarity.

Lawyers we defend

#FreeTheLawyers Campaign

The #FreeTheLawyers campaign is designed to bring awareness, build support, and inspire action on behalf of lawyers imprisoned for their work. Learn their stories, send them messages of hope, and join the campaign to stand in solidarity and advocate for their immediate release.

#FreeTheLawyersCampaign

Trial monitoring

When lawyers are prosecuted in connection with their professional activities, Lawyers for Lawyers can observe hearings in the trials against them. In this trial monitoring missions we observe and collect information about court sessions and procedures to determine whether they meet the standards for a fair trial. After attending sessions we publish a report with recommendations aimed at improving the functioning of the legal system of a country. We then lobby for implementation and follow-up of the recommendations in the report.

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