The Gambia: Profile: Gambia’s Lawyer Ousainou Darboe

August 4, 2016

Ousainou Darboe has risen from being a human rights lawyer to becoming the symbol of resistance against government repression in the Gambia.

As a veteran lawyer, he is credited to have saved the lives of over 200 Gambians including the late Sherriff Mustapha Dibba of the opposition National Convention Party (NCP) and Pap Cheyassin Secka, a lawyer, both of whom were charged with treason for their alleged involvement in the 1981 failed uprising against the erstwhile Jawara regime.

As a jurist, Mr Darboe also successfully represented a large majority of those detained under the various emergency powers regulations promulgated by the then PPP government of ex-president Jawara.

…

Not happy with the murder of his executive member, Mr Darboe led a peaceful protest to seek answers from the authorities but was confronted by armed security officers who fired tear gas and live ammunition at them.

Over 20 people including Mr Darboe were arrested and charged with various offences including unlawful assembly, riot, riotously interfering with traffic, holding a procession without a license and disobeying an order to disperse from an unlawful procession.

They were refused bail and remanded at the Mile Two prisons. After three months of detention, Mr Darboe and his supporters were sentenced to three years in prison after being found guilty by a high court judge.

https://jollofnews.com/2016/08/04/profile-gambias-lawyer-ousainou-darboe/

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36853700?ocid=socialflow_facebook

China: China lawyer travails split American Bar Association

August 5, 2016

Jail sentences meted out to a group of civil rights lawyers in China this week have rocked another legal community: the American Bar Association.

On Saturday the US attorneys’ lobby group will present its inaugural rights award in San Francisco, awarding the prize to a detained Chinese lawyer in absentia — a decision many within the organisation fear could jeopardise its quiet advocacy for legal reforms in China.

The move to honour Wang Yu comes after more than a year of debate within the ABA over how to respond to a tightening political environment in China. The debate mirrors that of many international organisations that have built up programmes to work within the Chinese system, only to find themselves increasingly unwelcome.

The Communist party has become suspicious of foreign funding for civic groups, especially from US organisations such as the Ford Foundation, George Soros’s Open Society or the National Endowment for Democracy. A law passed this year in effect places NGOs under the scrutiny of the security forces, rather than the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Chinese videos circulated online this week linked the efforts of rights lawyers to defend their clients with moves to trigger a revolution that would ruin Chinese society. Images of Ms Wang arguing with bailiffs in court alternated with shots of US missiles hitting Baghdad and the suffering of Syrian and Iraqi refugees.

…

https://next.ft.com/content/fd221ebc-5ac2-11e6-8d05-4eaa66292c32

http://thediplomat.com/2016/08/activists-and-lawyers-jailed-in-chinas-latest-crackdown/

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/05/us-criticises-chinas-political-trials-as-fourth-activist-punished-for-subversion

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-36983521

http://www.dw.com/en/opinion-a-dark-week-for-chinas-lawyers/a-19450973

http://www.hrichina.org/en/mass-crackdown-chinese-lawyers-defenders-and-international-reactions-brief-chronology

#Freethelawyers #709crackdown #WangYu #ZhouShifeng

Egypt: Lawyer Malek Adly detention in solitary confinement exceeds 3 months

August 4, 2016

After nearly three months of detention in solitary confinement, a Cairo court decided Wednesday to postpone to September an appeal filed by the detainee and prominent rights lawyer Malek Adly against the illegal conditions of his detention.

Arrested in May on charges of inciting protests and spreading false news against the backdrop of the controversial Red Sea islands case, Adly has since been detained in a solitary cell, unfurnished and unventilated. According to his wife Asmaa Aly, Adly has been repeatedly denied to go out of the cell, which is against prison regulations.

Prison regulations also state that solitary confinement is a punitive measure in case of misbehaviour and should not exceed 15 days.

Moreover, amendments introduced to the prison law under President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s rule allow furniture to be introduced in prison cells in exchange for a fee paid by the prisoner.

Adly’s wife and defence team filed a lawsuit against Tor prison authorities and the minister of interior, but on Wednesday, the Administrative Court set the upcoming session for 4 September for the opinion of judges of the State Lawsuits Authority.

Adly is likely to remain in solitary confinement until then, despite his deteriorating health.

http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2016/08/04/lawyer-malek-adly-detention-solitary-confinement-exceeds-3-months/

http://www.idhae.org/observatoire-fr-page4.1.egy160803.htm

#FreeMalekAdly ‫#‏مالك_عدلي_حر‬ ‪#‎Free_Malek_Adly‬

Turkey: Judges, Prosecutors Unfairly Jailedt

August 5, 2016

Turkey’s courts have placed at least 1,684 judges and prosecutors in pre-trial detention in the aftermath of the failed July 15, 2016 coup, Human Rights Watch said today. They are detained on suspicion that they are members of a terrorist organization or were involved in the coup attempt. Some lawyers have been reluctant to represent the judges for fear that they would be tainted by association.

In cases Human Rights Watch examined, decisions to arrest and detain someone pending investigation appear to have been made simply because their names appear on a list of alleged suspects, or because of alleged associations with a terrorist organization and “national security threats.” The authorities have presented no evidence in courts to substantiate any alleged criminal conduct by those arrested.

“Jailing judges without even the pretence of due process will cause profound damage to Turkey’s justice system for years to come,” said Emma Sinclair-Webb, Turkey director at Human Rights Watch. “Bypassing the rule of law is no way to protect it.”

…

https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/08/05/turkey-judges-prosecutors-unfairly-jailed

China: LA RÉPRESSION CONTRE MILITANTS ET AVOCATS PERDURE (AI)

le 4 août, 2016

Les autorités chinoises doivent mettre fin à leur incessante répression visant des militants et avocats défenseurs des droits humains, a déclaré Amnesty International, après la condamnation d’un éminent juriste à l’issue d’un procès inéquitable.

Jeudi 4 août, Zhou Shifeng a été condamné à sept années d’emprisonnement après avoir été reconnu coupable de « subversion du pouvoir de l’État », à l’issue d’un procès qui a duré moins d’une journée devant le tribunal populaire n° 2 de Tianjin, dans le nord-est de la Chine.

Mercredi, le militant pour la démocratie Hu Shigen a également été condamné à sept ans et demi d’emprisonnement pour « subversion du pouvoir de l’État » et, mardi, le militant Zhai Yanmin a été condamné à trois ans de prison avec quatre ans de sursis, toujours pour le même chef d’accusation.

« Cette vague de procès contre les avocats et les militants n’est qu’une mascarade politique. Leur sort est scellé avant qu’ils n’entrent dans la salle d’audience et ils n’ont aucune chance de bénéficier d’un procès équitable », a déclaré Roseann Rife, directrice adjointe du programme Asie-Pacifique d’Amnesty International. »

…

La répression contre militants et avocats perdure

Les autorités chinoises semblent résolues à faire taire toute personne qui soulève légitimement des problèmes de droits humains et fait appel à la loi pour obtenir réparation

#Freethelawyers #709crackdown #WangYu #ZhouShifeng

China: Zhao Wei’s lawyer, Ren Quanniu, released on bail

August 5, 2016

(according to Zhengzhou Public Security Bureau posted on Weibo, per Patrick Poon, Amnesty International, in Hong Kong)

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/2111033-lawyer-of-zhao-wei-is-arrested-for-picking-quarrels-following-her-release/

#Freethelawyers #709crackdown ‪#‎RenQuanniu‬

China: Activist accused of subversion pleads guilty

August 5, 2016

An activist accused of damaging national security by spreading subversive thoughts and conducting anti-national activities pleaded guilty at Tianjin No 2 Intermediate People’s Court on Friday.

Prosecutors said that Gou Hongguo went abroad to allegedly get training in subversion after met Hu Shigen, leader of an illegal organization, which claims to hold religious activities, in 2013.

Since then, Gou, led by Hu, allegedly took part in anti-China forums abroad and spread subversive thoughts after he returned home, according to prosecutors.

Gou allegedly provided money for Hu, lawyer Zhou Shifeng and other activists Zhai Yanmin and Le Heping to organize protests against the country, the prosecutors said.

Earlier this week, Zhai, Hu and Zhou were sentenced for subverting State power by the court. Zhai was given three years in prison with a four-year reprieve. Hu was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years and Zhou was jailed for seven years.

Li is being prosecuted in a separate case.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2016-08/05/content_26355454.htm

http://europe.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2016-08/05/content_26355509.htm

http://www.cecc.gov/media-center/press-releases/cecc-chairs-say-trials-of-rights-advocates-and-religious-leader-a

http://english.sina.com/news/2016-08-05/detail-ifxutfyw0659001.shtml

http://en.chinagate.cn/2016-08/05/content_39030666.htm

http://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1999498/chinese-christian-activist-rights-crackdown-gets

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-3724854/Chinas-crackdown-raises-familiar-specter-foreign-forces.html

http://www.christiantimes.com/article/freed-chinese-human-rights-lawyer-wang-yu-still-under-government-control/60163.htm

http://www.newstalk.com/US-urges-China-to-release-lawyers-and-activists-detained-during-crackdown

China Smears Foreign Diplomats in Another 4-Minute Video, As Trials of Rights Lawyers and Activists Continue in Tianjin

http://www.rnz.de/nachrichten_artikel,-Aktivist-in-China-zu-drei-Jahren-Haft-auf-Bewaehrung-verurteilt-_arid,212132.html (GERMAN)

http://www.stuttgarter-nachrichten.de/inhalt.china-aktivist-in-china-zu-drei-jahren-haft-auf-bewaehrung-verurteilt.f2968a4a-7016-4895-92f0-88160acb9dd2.html (GERMAN)

https://noticias.terra.es/mundo/asia/prision-anulada-para-cuarto-procesado-esta-semana-en-campana-contra-dhumanos,92fc115c132f83fbdb9a235321b86c53oi8m1cfr.html (SPANISH)

Gou Hongguo 勾洪国

#Freethelawyers #709crackdown #GuoHonggou