Interviews with lawyers

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

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27 July 2023

‘Crisis of today comes from crimes of the past’

Mexico

Alicia de los Ríos Merino from Mexico lost her mother as a baby and now demands the truth as a lawyer. By Trudeke Sillevis Smitt It happened in 1978. Alicia de los Ríos Merino was just a baby when her

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5 July 2023

Dual interview with Mr Brandon Abdinor and Ms Thobeka Gumede, lawyers at the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) in South Africa: “It is sometimes easier to engage with communities who are already impacted and that is so unfortunate”

Brandon Abdinor became aware of the dependency of the world civilization on fossil fuels at a young age and is now a passionate climate advocacy lawyer. Thobeka Gumede initially chose environmental law out of curiosity, as it was the least

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23 May 2023

Swimming against the tide “Roeien tegen de stroom in”

the Netherlands

The Netherlands score high on the Rule of Law Index, but here, too, lawyers face threats and intimidation. Lawyers for Lawyers (L4L) pointed out the deterioration in the Netherlands in a UPR report last year. For L4L, journalist Jochem Meijer

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8 March 2023

Nursyahbani Katjasungkana: “we as lawyers need to learn more about gender and law”

Indonesia

Lawyers for Lawyers presents the “Highlighting the Work of Female Lawyers from Asia” interview series. This series highlights the important work of inspiring female lawyers from Asia. We address the general challenges these lawyers face as women in the male

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23 January 2023

Venezuela: judiciary as weapon for political prosecution

Venezuela

by Trudeke Sillevis Smitt The Rule of Law Index 2022 was released at the end of October. In the very last place, number 140: Venezuela. The well-known human rights lawyer Alfredo Romero explains why. “It may sound unbelievable, but in

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18 November 2022

Ahmadiniaz: ‘Help Iranian protesters’

Iran

  by Trudeke Sillevis Smitt ‘Respect the law! Women, life, freedom!’ On October 8, about two hundred lawyers demonstrated with those slogans in front of the building of the Bar Association in Tehran. It was a contribution to the protests

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17 October 2022

‘They’re basically saying the EU is funding terrorism’

Philippines

Philippine lawyer Musni provides legal assistance, with support of the EU, to poor farmers in the north. The state suspects her of financing terrorism. The Philippine human rights lawyer Czarina Musni made clear prior to the video interview that she

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