Cameroon: Revendications anglophones: Bientôt une section de la Common Law à la Cour Suprême et à l’ENAM

le 31 mars, 2017

C’est la réponse du Président Paul Biya aux revendications des avocats anglophones.

Le ministre d’État, ministre de la Justice, Garde des Sceaux, Laurent Esso, a rendu publiques hier les décisions du Chef de l’État suite aux revendications des avocats anglophone. C’était lors d’un point de presse au siège de son département ministériel à Yaoundé.

«Le Président de la République m’a instruit d’élaborer et de lui soumettre un projet de loi modifiant l’organisation et le fonctionnement de la Cour suprême, pour y intégrer la Section de la Common Law. L’objectif est que cette Section de langue anglaise de la Cour suprême examine en anglais, dans le respect de la Common Law le cas échéant, toutes les affaires venant des Cours d’Appel du Nord-Ouest et du Sud-Ouest», a dit le ministre de la Justice.

Par ailleurs, apprend-on, le Président de la République a instruit un recensement des Magistrats d’expression anglaise en vue d’augmenter les effectifs des Magistrats anglophones au sein de la Haute Juridiction. Cette mesure vise l’institution des collégialités pouvant connaître des pourvois contre les décisions rendues en langue anglaise.

Une autre revendication portait sur le redéploiement des Magistrats en tenant compte du critère linguistique. Ce qui a conduit le Chef de l’État à muter de Hauts Magistrats. Selon Laurent Esso, «le Président de la République a ordonné une nouvelle évaluation sur la maîtrise de la Common Law par les Magistrats en service dans les Cours d’Appel du Nord-Ouest et du Sud-Ouest et du droit romano-germanique dans les ressorts des autres Cours d’Appel».

…

http://www.cameroon-info.net/article/cameroun-revendications-anglophones-bientot-une-section-de-la-common-law-a-la-cour-supreme-285666.html

http://www.cameroon-tribune.cm/articles/7236/fr/articles

http://www.cameroon-info.net/article/cameroon-anglophone-crisis-paul-biya-finally-bows-to-demands-of-common-law-lawyers-285654.html (ENGLISH)

Turkey: 5 Judiciary Members Expelled Over ByLock Use Reinstated To Posts By HSYK

March 31, 2017

Five judiciary members, who were expelled from their posts due to their use of a smart phone application known as ByLock by the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), have been reinstated to their posts by the HSYK, according to a story in the Hürriyet daily on Friday.

ByLock is considered by the Turkish authorities to be the top communication tool among alleged followers of the faith-based Gülen movement, which is accused by the government of masterminding a failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016.

The HSYK decided to reinstate the five judges and prosecutors after conducting an investigation against them, which revealed that some of these judges and prosecutors had their ADSL passwords stolen while some of them shared their passwords with others.

The HSYK also reportedly took into consideration of the social surroundings of the judges and prosecutors while making its decision to reinstate them.

In the meantime, requests by one judge and one prosecutor to be reinstated to their posts have been rejected by the HSYK.

…

http://stockholmcf.org/5-judiciary-members-expelled-over-bylock-use-reinstated-to-posts-by-hsyk/

http://washingtonhatti.com/2017/03/27/president-of-the-international-assoc-of-judges-the-end-of-the-rule-of-law-in-turkey/

http://www.endangeredjurists.com/home.html

USA: Global Persecution of Lawyers (audio only)

March 21, 2017

Description:
This panel focuses on governmental crackdowns on lawyers and judges across different regions. This type of crackdown can include harassment, disbarment, dismissal from official posts, threats to friends, family, and the lawyers themselves, close supervision and other threats to independence, inability to maintain lawyer-client confidentiality, and in extreme cases, targeted imprisonment or the killing of lawyers for representing their clients and judges for faithfully discharging their duties. The threat to the rule of law becomes substantial as governments move to take away the personal and professional rights of the lawyer and the judge as well as deprive individuals of their right to counsel and ability to assert their legal rights.

Panelists:
Melissa Hooper, Director of Human Rights and Civil Society, Human Rights First
Nate Schenkkan, Project Director for Nations in Transit, Freedom House
Liu Wei, Coordinator & Co-Founder, Public Interest Collaborative for Women Lawyers in China
Javier El-Hage, Chief Legal Officer, Human Rights Foundation
Ochoro Ottuno, Principal & General Counsel, LCN Capital LLC

Moderator:
Jerome A. Cohen, Professor, New York University School of Law

…

http://www.nycbar.org/media-listing/media/detail/global-persecution-of-lawyers

Turkey: le leader kurde Demirtas va entamer une grève de la faim

le 31 mars, 2017

Le chef du principal parti pro-kurde de Turquie Selahattin Demirtas a annoncé jeudi qu’il entamerait une grève de la faim vendredi pour protester contre les conditions de détention “inhumaines” dans la prison où il est incarcéré depuis novembre.

Dans un communiqué, le co-président du Parti démocratique des peuples (HDP) a annoncé que cette grève de la faim visait à dénoncer les “pratiques illégales et inhumaines” dans la prison d’Edirne (nord-ouest) où d’autres détenus kurdes ont déjà entamé une grève de la faim.

Outre Edirne, plusieurs prisonniers kurdes ont également récemment entamé des grèves de la faim dans les prisons d’Izmir (ouest) Ankara et Van (est) pour protester contre leurs conditions de détention.

Le charismatique chef de file du HDP est visé par des dizaines de procédures judiciaires et risque notamment 142 ans de prison dans le cadre d’un procès où il est accusé de “diriger une organisation terroriste” et de faire de la “propagande terroriste”.

Les autorités turques accusent le HDP d’être la vitrine politique des séparatistes du Parti des travailleurs du Kurdistan (PKK), une organisation classée “terroriste” par Ankara, Washington et Bruxelles.

…

https://www.lorientlejour.com/article/1043796/turquie-le-leader-kurde-demirtas-va-entamer-une-greve-de-la-faim.html (N.B. Selahattan Demirtas est ancien avocat des droits de l’homme)

http://www.swissinfo.ch/fre/toute-l-actu-en-bref/le-leader-kurde-demirtas-va-entamer-une-gr%C3%A8ve-de-la-faim/43072462

http://www.24heures.ch/monde/Demirtas-stoppe-sa-greve-de-la-faim/story/27179708

http://vestnikkavkaza.net/news/HDP-co-chair-Selahattin-Demirtas-announces-hunger-strike.html (ENGLISH)

https://turkeypurge.com/kurdish-politicians-including-hdp-co-chair-demirtas-to-go-on-hunger-strike-in-protest-of-prison-conditions (ENGLISH)

http://stockholmcf.org/hdp-co-chair-demirtas-ends-hunger-strike-after-promises-from-prison-administration/ (ENGLISH)

Pakistan: Suspected militant kills lawyer from minority sect over blasphemy charges

March 30, 2017

A suspected militant on Thursday shot and killed a lawyer from Pakistan’s minority Ahmadi sect over blasphemy allegations in eastern Punjab province, police said.

The attacker was arrested shortly after killing the lawyer, Saleem Latif, in the town of Nankana, local police official Nazim Alid said. Latif was from a prominent Ahmadi family and was a cousin of Pakistan’s 1979 Nobel physics laureate Abdus Salam.

“We quickly arrested the attacker who claims that Saleem Latif was involved in blasphemy,” he said.

Hours after the incident, a spokesman for the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi militant group claimed responsibility for the attack. The spokesman, Ali Bin Sufyan, said in a statement that Latif was killed for adhering to the beliefs of the Ahmadi sect.

The Ahmadi faith was established in the Indian subcontinent in the 19th century by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who followers believe was a prophet.

Pakistan’s declared Ahmadis non-Muslims in 1974 and they are often targeted by Sunni militant groups.

…

http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/pakistan-suspected-militant-kills-lawyer-from-minority-sect-over-blasphemy-charges/story-q7uoOG4tqlR3Bl0LXUpCqK.html

https://tribune.com.pk/story/1369395/ahmadi-leader-gunned-near-lahore/

https://www.dawn.com/news/1323766/ahmadi-cousin-of-nobel-laureate-abdus-salam-gunned-down-in-nankana-sahib

http://timesofahmad.blogspot.fr/2017/03/pakistan-slain-ahmadi-leader-malik.html

https://www.newdelhitimes.com/pakistan-suspected-militants-killed-minority-sect-lawyer123/

http://pakobserver.net/gunmen-kill-dr-abdus-salams-cousin/

Tajikistan/Germany: Jailed Tajik Lawyer’s Lawyer Flees, Fearing Her Client’s Fate

March 31, 2017

Who will defend the defenders when all the lawyers are detained?

Muazzama Qodirova, a Tajik lawyer, told RFE/RL this week that she is in Germany applying for political asylum. According to RFE/RL, she said “that Tajik authorities had threatened to launch a criminal investigation accusing her of leaking information about her client’s case to foreign media.”

Qodirova is the latest in an ever-lengthening list of lawyers hounded by Tajik authorities based on the clients they represent. In Qodirova’s case, she has been representing Buzurgmehr Yorov, the lawyer whose 23-year prison sentence — handed down in October 2016 after a closed trial — was recently extended by three years.

Yorov, and another lawyer specializing in human rights cases, Nuriddin Mahkamov, were arrested shortly after their most prominent clients: the leaders of the Islamic Renaissance Party (IRPT). The lawyers were accused and convicted of inciting ethnic enmity, calling for the overthrow of the government, support of extremist activity, fraud, and forgery.

…

http://thediplomat.com/2017/03/jailed-tajik-lawyers-lawyer-flees-fearing-her-clients-fate/

http://www.rferl.org/a/lawyer-jailed-tajikistan-human-rights-attorney-flees-germany/28399757.html

Turkey/USA: Annual Meeting 2016: ABA supports the independence of the judiciary and the legal profession in Turkey

August 9, 2016

The House of Delegates approves resolution 10B calling on the Government of Turkey to hold fair, impartial hearings before suspending any lawyer or judge from the bar or tribunal; and to commit to protect human rights during the 2016 Annual Meeting session on Aug. 9 in San Francisco. The resolution supports the independence of the judiciary and the legal profession and opposes any nation’s detention of individuals without charge or access to counsel.

…

http://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/2016/08/annual_meeting_20165.html (VIDEO)

http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/images/abanews/2016%20Annual%20Resolutions/10b.pdf (RESOLUTION)

CCBE: Today marked the launch of a new online platform for the protection of human rights defenders and lawyers worldwide

March 30, 2017

The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) welcomes the launch of a new online platform “Index of attacks and threats against Human Rights Defenders” by the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism.

This platform is an important new instrument to enhance the protection of threatened lawyers, since it will centralise alerts on attacks on lawyers worldwide.

The CCBE proposed the establishment of this platform last year, based on the platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists launched by the Council of Europe, in 2015.

The new platform was presented today at the workshop “How to improve the protection of threatened lawyers worldwide? Practical tools from the EU Human Rights Defenders mechanism”, jointly organised by the CCBE and the EU Human Rights Defenders Mechanism.

The event gathered around 70 participants among which were Bars and Law Societies, International, European and national lawyers’ organisations, individual lawyers, and human rights NGOs.

…

Click to access EN_NA_20170330_pr_0317.pdf

http://www.ccbe.eu/fileadmin/speciality_distribution/public/documents/Pressreleases/2017/FR_NA_20170330_pr_0317.pdf (FRANCAIS)

Turkey: Professor İştar Gözaydın Released From Prison By An İstanbul Court

March 30, 2017

Prominent professor and social scientist İştar Gözaydın, who has been behind bars since Dec. 20, 2016 on terror charges, has been released from prison by an İstanbul court following the court’s acceptance of an indictment prepared by prosecutor about her on Thursday. However, Prof. Gözaydın has been barred from international travel by the same court decision.

Gözaydın was detained on Dec. 20 as part of an investigation conducted by the İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office into the faith-based Gülen movement. She was arrested on Dec. 27. The professor was head of the sociology department at the İzmir-based Gediz University, which was shut down by government decree along with thousands of other educational institutions in the aftermath of a failed coup attempt on July 15.

A former Fulbright scholar, Gözaydın had worked as a research fellow at Birkbeck, University of London, and is also among the founders of the Helsinki Citizens Assembly, a Turkish-based human rights organization.

…

http://stockholmcf.org/professor-istar-gozaydin-released-from-prison-by-an-istanbul-court/

https://bianet.org/english/human-rights/185017-prof-istar-gozaydin-released-after-94-days-of-arrest

http://www.kedistan.net/2017/04/01/istar-gozaydin-liberte-provisoire/ (FRANCAIS)

Turkey: 396 Women Launch Petition Campaign For Release Of Jailed Professor Gözaydın

March 30, 2017

A total of 396 women have launched a petition campaign demanding the release of prominent professor and social scientist İştar Gözaydın, who has been behind bars since late December on terror charges.

Gözaydın was detained on Dec. 20 as part of an investigation conducted by the İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office into the faith-based Gülen movement. She was arrested on Dec. 27. The professor was head of the sociology department at the İzmir-based Gediz University, which was shut down by government decree along with thousands of other educational institutions in the aftermath of a failed coup attempt on July 15.

“We are witnesses for İştar Gözaydın. We ask for an end to her investigation and arrest, which turned into a massacre of law through accusations she has been subjected to as a writer and scientist, and we demand the release of our friend,” the women say in the petition as they call on all women from every walk of life, profession and political view to sign it.

A former Fulbright scholar, Gözaydın had worked as a research fellow at Birkbeck, University of London, and is also among the founders of the Helsinki Citizens Assembly, a Turkish-based human rights organization.

…

http://stockholmcf.org/396-women-launch-petition-campaign-for-release-of-jailed-professor-gozaydin/

(**BREAKING: Istar was released from detention today, 100 days after she was first taken into custody, but she has to return to court on September 12, 2017. https://bianet.org/bianet/insan-haklari/185010-prof-gozaydin-hakkinda-tahliye-karari)

http://t24.com.tr/haber/prof-istar-gozaydin-tahliye-edildi,396587 (TURKISH)

http://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/istar-gozaydin-a-tahliye-153376.html (TURKISH)

https://www.evrensel.net/haber/314138/prof-dr-istar-gozaydin-tahliye-edildi (TURKISH)

http://haber.sol.org.tr/toplum/tutuklu-profesor-istar-gozaydin-tahliye-edildi-191064 (TURKISH)

http://www.diken.com.tr/teror-orgutu-uyeligi-iddiasiyla-tutuklanan-prof-dr-istar-gozaydin-tahliye-edildi/ (TURKISH)