DR Congo: Firmin Yangambi quitte la prison de Makala

le 15 mars, 2019

L’avocat Firmin Yangambi, président de l’ONGDH Paix sur terre est sorti ce vendredi 15 mars de la prison centrale de Makala. A sa sortie, il était accompagné de sa famille. Au terme des 10 ans d’emprisonnement pour “formation d’un mouvement insurrectionnel”, il a été gracié mercredi 13 mars par le Président de la République.

Quant à l’opposant politique Franck Diongo, président du MLP, il refuse de sortir de la prison au motif qu’il est très fatigué par la maladie, indiquent les responsables de la prison contactés par Radio Okapi.

https://www.radiookapi.net/2019/03/15/actualite/en-bref/rdc-firmin-yangambi-quitte-la-prison-de-makala

https://www.politico.cd/elections-2018/2019/03/15/apres-pres-de-10-ans-firmin-yangambi-a-quitte-la-prison-de-makala-ce-vendredi.html?fbclid=IwAR0Af3YkvuxX_W1HFHjWlXNXZea-QfOGUXZQ_LF8437-ly_prwqiK0_W_Us

https://actualite.cd/2019/03/13/rdc-frank-diongo-et-firmin-yangambi-gracies-par-felix-tshisekedi

https://www.lalibre.be/actu/international/rdc-liberation-de-700-prisonniers-dont-deux-politiques-connus-5c8a62b79978e2710eb6ec9b

https://www.jeuneafrique.com/748958/politique/rdc-franck-diongo-et-firmin-yangambi-gracies-le-ministre-des-affaires-foncieres-suspendu/

https://www.voaafrique.com/a/4828637.html

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p073gvt3 (ENGLISH)

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/03/drc-president-tshisekedi-pardons-700-political-prisoners-190314065522403.html (ENGLISH)

https://www.dw.com/en/congos-president-pardons-hundreds-of-political-prisoners/a-47903271?fbclid=IwAR0aeKJ5KZTI_ZhqOFaOjMvUQ5N63Qj7M9zaJmd34jkuaj2lhTiY_8kLnqE (ENGLISH)

Turkey: Turkish rights lawyer Elçi fell to police officer’s bullet, investigation finds

February 11, 2019

A prominent Kurdish human rights lawyer shot dead in mysterious circumstances in 2015 was probably hit by a bullet from a police officer’s pistol, an investigation by a specialist UK-based team has concluded. Tahir Elçi, chairman of the Diyarbakir Bar Association, was an advocate for human rights in the decades-long conflict in the predominantly Kurdish south-east of the country. He was killed during a press conference outside a mosquein November 2015.

No one has been charged with the killing. Now research by a specialist team at a UK university has concluded that Elçi may have been killed by a shot from a police officer’s gun during an exchange of fire between security forces and members of the militant group PKK.

Forensic Architecture, based at Goldsmiths, University of London, was responding to a request by the Diyarbakir Bar Association to examine evidence. The group specialises in investigating violations of human rights by modelling them with 3D graphics and other advanced computer tools.

Its report, published this month, found that as Elçi was speaking to denounce the ongoing violence two policemen were shot and killed in an adjacent street. Two perpetrators ran off in the direction of the press conference, and at least five policemen opened fire. In a little over nine seconds, 40 shots were fired.

Elçi was killed by a single bullet to the back of the head. The fatal bullet was not recovered – one of several shortcomings in the police investigation – but the manner of Elçi’s death was reminiscent of previous killings of Kurdish nationalists and human rights advocates by ‘unknown perpetrators’.

The Forensic Architecture investigation analysed four videos of the incident, none of which showed Elçi at the moment he was shot. Investigators counted every shot that could be heard during the crucial period, who fired each shot, and in which direction. Visible points of impact were also recorded. The investigation concluded that 26 of the 40 shots were fired by police. Plotting the direction of shots in a 3D computer generated model showed that neither of the PKK militants could have fired the fatal shot, though one of them fired at a police officer, wounding him in the lower abdomen. It also discounted police claims that ‘long-range weapons’ had been fired from barricades at the end of the street.

…

https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/turkish-rights-lawyer-el%C3%A7i-fell-to-police-officers-bullet-investigation-finds/5069231.article

https://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-turkey-rights-lawyer-slaying-20190220-story.html

https://armenianweekly.com/2019/02/22/prophetic-death/

https://stockholmcf.org/15-year-sentences-sought-for-lawyers-on-terrorism-charges/

http://bianet.org/english/human-rights/205222-lawyer-can-tombul-not-released-in-second-hearing

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tahir_El%C3%A7i

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tahir_El%C3%A7i (FRANCAIS)

https://www.evrensel.net/haber/375755/yazar-muharrem-erbey-tahir-elcinin-nasil-yasadigini-yazmak-istedim (TURKCE)

https://t24.com.tr/haber/turkan-elci-fasizm-camide-49-kisiyi-de-oldurur-49-yasindaki-masum-birini-minarenin-ayaklari-altinda-da,812464 (TURKCE)

https://www.evrensel.net/haber/374773/diyarbakir-barosu-tahir-elci-dosyasinin-takipcisiyiz (TURKCE)

https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/gundem/2019/03/04/kanadadan-selcuk-kozagacli-ve-11-avukat-icin-erdogana-mektup/?fbclid=IwAR1S9QZc_UnmGgCCEGhVf_HvV-JyMQygRkL8qcYMJvRR0ltqlrMYqIOKlJg (TURKCE)

Equatorial Guinea/France: Rights Lawyer Faces Bogus Charges

February 15, 2019

Equatorial Guinea named a French anti-corruption lawyer in an arrest warrant against 16 people, in apparent retaliation for his involvement in a money laundering trial against the president’s eldest son, ten human rights and anti-corruption groups said today. The warrant accuses the 16 targets of laundering money and helping to finance “terrorism and the proliferation of arms trafficking in Central Africa.”

Named in the warrant are also people already in police custody accused of participating in a December 2017 coup attempt. They have been unable to communicate with their families or lawyers since their arrest, raising serious concern about their risk of torture and other ill treatment and in some cases their right to life, the organizations said.

“The Equatorial Guinean government has used every trick in the book to shield the president’s son from credible allegations of stealing more than €100 million (US$113 million) in public funds to live a life of luxury in Paris,” said Tutu Alicante, director of EG Justice, an organization that advocates human rights and transparency in Equatorial Guinea. “Now it seems they are fabricating charges to retaliate against those who helped a French court convict him for his crimes.”

…

https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/02/15/equatorial-guinea-rights-lawyer-faces-bogus-charges

http://www.omct.org/human-rights-defenders/urgent-interventions/equatorial-guinea/2019/02/d25249/?fbclid=IwAR0vIIu7J4bJKAyrPn86Z-Hy4WsjlFXc8PT7BiuzWzLvmVZijbgq8-95DuI

https://www.protect-lawyers.com/en/french-anti-corruption-lawyer-targeted-by-an-arrest-warrant-in-equatorial-guinea/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Bourdon

http://www.avocatparis.org/mon-metier-davocat/publications-du-conseil/soutien-du-conseil-de-lordre-notre-confrere-william (FRANCAIS)

https://www.cnb.avocat.fr/fr/actualites/un-avocat-anticorruption-francais-vise-par-un-mandat-darret-en-guinee-equatoriale (FRANCAIS)

https://www.liberation.fr/france/2019/02/25/la-guinee-equatoriale-attaque-deux-responsables-d-ong-francaises_1711015 (FRANCAIS)

https://www.mediapart.fr/journal/international/220219/un-avocat-anticorruption-vise-par-un-mandat-d-arret-fantaisiste (FRANCAIS)

https://www.protect-lawyers.com/fr/un-avocat-anticorruption-francais-vise-par-un-mandat-darret-en-guinee-equatoriale/ (FRANCAIS)

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Bourdon (FRANCAIS)

Australia/Timor Leste: East Timor spy scandal: Jury could hear Collaery, Witness K case

February 28, 2019

A jury could hear the controversial prosecution of a former spy known as “Witness K” and his lawyer who are both accused of revealing information about the Australian government spying on East Timor, a court has been told.

But before the question of any committal or possible jury trial could be decided, on Thursday a preliminary hearing in the case to be heard in secret was set down for August.

Tim Begbie, for the Commonwealth, said that since the matter was last in court Attorney-General Christian Porter had issued certificates under the National Security Information Act over the brief of evidence.

He said that, in broad terms, the certificates permitted the brief of evidence to be disclosed subject to certain restricted circumstances such as where it can be viewed.

He said there was also an unclassified version of the brief.

Because the Attorney-General has issued those certificates, the matter is headed for a closed court preliminary hearing in the ACT Magistrates Court to consider how sensitive material will be dealt with.

Mr Begbie passed to the court a set of proposed orders leading up to the hearing.

The preliminary hearing was set down for August 6, 7, and 8 this year.

But also raised in the course of Thursday’s mention in the ACT Magistrates Court was the possibility of a committal to the ACT’s higher court, which both lawyers for Witness K and Canberra lawyer Bernard Collaery flagged.

Mr Collaery’s barrister, Christopher Ward SC, said they were considering the question of a jury trial but were not yet in a position to decide because they had not been able to sit with their client and review the evidence.

…

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/act/east-timor-spy-scandal-jury-could-hear-collaery-witness-k-case-20190228-p510xz.html

https://independentaustralia.net/life/life-display/the-illegal-bugging-of-the-timor-leste-cabinet,12411

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Collaery

Ghana: NDC Office Shooting: HAWKS lawyer attacked by deceased’s family

March 16, 2019

Lawyer Evans Amankwah, Counsel for three suspects arrested in connection with the shooting incident at the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Ashanti Regional Headquarters has confirmed to MyNewsGh.com of being attacked by members of the bereaved family

Also READ: We’re battle ready for 2020 – NDC Hawks serve warning to Security Agencies

There was a drama at Asokwa district court in Kumasi on Thursday March 14, 2019 when the family of Wasiu who was shot dead at NDC Ashanti Regional Office attacked the private legal practitioner defending members of NDC vigilante group, the Hawks.

It would be recalled the Asokwa District Court on March 4, 2019 remanded the three members of ‘The Hawks’ who surrendered themselves to the police following the shooting incident at NDC regional office that left one dead and another badly injured.

The suspects were expected to make their appearance on Thursday March 14, 2019 as directed by the court during the last sitting.

Dauda Ibrahim alias Wayo, 40; Agyin Samuel alias Rock, 32 and Abdul Ganiyu alias Petit 37, were provisionally charged with conspiracy to commit and murder.

But during Thursday’s sitting, the bereaved family stormed the court premises in their numbers with friends and were seen causing confusion disrupting proceedings.

Lawyer Evans Amankwah who was the target of the attacks had his car tyre destroyed by the bereaved family and their friends who were charged and ready to visit violence on anyone who stood on their way.

 

Speaking to MyNewsGh.com he revealed that he was kept hostage by the bereaved family and friends after the court proceedings which had adjourned the case to a later date.

…

https://mynewsgh.com/ndc-office-shooting-hawks-lawyer-attacked-by-deceaseds-family/

Honduras: Unos 700 abogados han abandonado Honduras por amenazas a muerte

11/03/19

El presidente del Colegio de Abogados de Honduras (CAH), capítulo norte, Julio Orellana, reveló este lunes que entre 500 y 700 profesionales del derecho han tenido que abandonar el país por amenazas a muerte.

– El gremio de los abogados es uno de los afectados por la violencia en Honduras. Al menos 154 profesionales del derecho perdieron la vida en circunstancias violentas, desde 2002 a la fecha, en más del 90% los casos están impunes.

“La situación que vive el profesional del derecho en nuestro país es muy difícil. Alrededor de unos 500 y 700 profesionales del derecho han tenido que salir de nuestro país debido a las diferentes amenazas por los distintos trabajos que realizan en los tribunales de la República”, afirmó.

Entre esas amenazas, detalló: “Muchas acciones que son ejecutadas por los bancos en contra de personas, éstos no entienden que es el banco es que la ejecuta a través de un abogado y creen que quitándole la vida a un profesional del derecho van a detener la acción y eso es absolutamente falso”.

Orellana citó también que varios colegas conocen casos de alto riesgo, lo que los hace vulnerable ante grupos que se sienten afectados.

El representante del CAH en el capítulo norte, lamentó que casi en su totalidad las muertes violentas de abogados quedan en total impunidad.

…

http://proceso.hn/actualidad/7-actualidad/unos-700-abogados-han-abandonado-honduras-por-amenazas-a-muerte.html

https://tiempo.hn/700-abogados-abandonado-honduras-amenazas/?fbclid=IwAR2fiv3Hz33NgxsWIqIf2JiM5iIQ6PQzGjvXfKnKyp-wGAQfFDcd4NZ1xXc

https://hondudiario.com/2019/03/11/al-menos-700-abogados-han-salido-del-pais-al-recibir-amenazas-de-muerte/

https://notibomba.com/honduras-700-abogados-han-huido-por-miedo-a-ser-victimas-de-sicariato/

http://www.radioamerica.hn/700-abogados-pais/

N.B.: Approximately 700 lawyers have been forced to flee the country recently due to death threats.

#AméricaNoticias #Honduras

Al menos 700 abogados han abandonado el país en últimos años por la violencia… https://t.co/uviLz8w39P pic.twitter.com/sTGG8HWk1h

— Radio América HN (@radioamericahn) March 11, 2019

#AméricaNoticias #Honduras

Al menos 700 abogados han abandonado el país en los últimos años debido amenazas de muerte y atentados que han sufrido, asegura el presidente del Colegio de Abogados, capítulo noroccidente, Julio Orellana. pic.twitter.com/rxaFJA8a06

— Radio América HN (@radioamericahn) March 11, 2019

The Philippines: INTERNATIONAL LAWYERS DELEGATION TO PRESENT INITIAL VIEWS AND INSIGHTS ON KILLINGS AND ATTACKS AGAINST FILIPINO LAWYERS

March 17, 2019

(National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers Facebook, 17/03/19)

https://www.bulatlat.com/2019/03/16/under-duterte-attacks-against-filipino-lawyers-escalating/

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1096812/intl-team-to-bare-findings-on-lawyers-killings?fbclid=IwAR2oKZ9hcla0lgK85HJFOwbcqN6IXIfEoo4w9NS6lhw69I8UX1e2jPcwyxY&utm_expid=.XqNwTug2W6nwDVUSgFJXed.1

https://www.ucanews.com/news/international-law-groups-decry-philippine-lawyer-slayings/84739

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/03/17/1901757/philippines-becomes-second-country-quit-icc

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1096594/group-appeals-to-duterte-stop-killing-lawyers?utm_expid=.XqNwTug2W6nwDVUSgFJXed.1

http://www.chrp.org.uk/2019/international-lawyers-groups-hold-colloquium-on-role-of-lawyers-in-ph/

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/688322/protect-don-rsquo-t-attack-lawyers-foreign-delegation-tells-duterte/story/

https://www.courrierinternational.com/depeche/les-philippines-quittent-la-cpi-qui-enquete-sur-leur-president.afp.com.20190316.doc.1eq294.xml?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&Echobox=1552863732&fbclid=IwAR0v5nlvAJhE0jVsjdVg5aA-blepd_xuh3y3Mbo4Jip8NINacsnklty3RVU (FRANCAIS)

NEWS RELEASE
18 March 2019

International Lawyers Delegation Findings:
Killings and reprisals restraining lawyers from fully and freely exercising their profession; Calls for stop to attacks of their peers and brethren

An international delegation of lawyers organized by the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL), Union of International Advocates (UIA), and Day of the Endangered Lawyer Foundation who arrived in the Philippines to look firsthand into the targeting of lawyers and other legal professionals shared their initial findings today at a press conference at the Integrated Bar of the Philippines.

After a series of marathon interviews and conferences in Metro Manila and Iloilo with victims and their families, government and non-governmental offices and bar associations, the team of lawyers from Belgium, Italy, Japan, Korea, Netherlands and the US made some initial findings, among others:

(a) That at least 37 members of the legal profession have been killed in the exercise of their duties and profession;
(b) As a consequence of President Duterte’s “war on drugs,” lawyers who defend those accused of drug crimes are maligned and subjected to real threats of attack;
(c) Red-tagging lawyers resulted to harassment, surveillance, loss of employment and killing; and
(d) That the practice of filing fabricated charges to pressure, harass, discredit and intimidate lawyers is prevalent.

The group also concluded that these have created a climate of fear and intimidation preventing or obstructing lawyers, judges and prosecutors from exercising their profession.

Members of the Delegation raised concerns over patterns suggesting a connection between the killings of lawyers and the actions of the police and the military.

The group humbly put forward a list of initial recommendations in their sincere desire to protect their peers and brethren, to ensure the independence of judges and lawyers, and to uphold basic due process for all, including those of critics and dissenters.

It called on their colleague the President to refrain from publicly attacking fellow lawyers and urged him to publicly condemn all attacks against lawyers and other members of the legal profession and to abide by the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers.

The Delegation was participated in by the Confederation of Lawyers in Asia and the Pacific (COLAP), National Lawyers Guild (NLG) of the US, Progress Lawyers Network (PLN) of Belgium, Italian Democratic Lawyers, Japanese Lawyers for International Solidarity and Action (JALISA), and MINBYUN-Lawyers for a Democratic Society of Korea.

It is also supported by the
Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers of UK, European Lawyers for World Human Rights and Democracy (ELDH), Dutch Lawyers for Lawyers, European Democratic Lawyers (AED), Hellenic Union of Progressive Lawyers (HUPL) of Greece, Italian National Bar, Dutch League of Human Rights and the International Association of Peoples’ Lawyers (IAPL).

The Delegation would come up with a full report forthwith and will submit their findings to international bodies, governments and international organizations.###

References:

Suzanne Adely
Hans Gaasbeek
c/o 09159074183 2019lawyersdelegation@gmail.com

(National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers Facebook, 18/03/19)

 

UIA joins an international delegation to Philippines against killings and attacks on lawyers. See announcement https://t.co/grdaCv4FLL https://t.co/kRQOp5CBJy

— UIA-Protection Of Lawyers / Défense de la Défense (@UIAdefense) March 15, 2019

9-member delegation to look into attacks on Filipino lawyers https://t.co/6ow5krcFCT

— lenolea (@LenOlea) March 16, 2019