Daily Archives: 11/03/2021

Iraq: Father of abducted Iraqi lawyer and activist assassinated in Amara

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11/03/21

Jasb Hattab Aboud, father of the kidnapped protester Ali Jasb, cries as he holds his son's picture in his home in the town of Amara,Iraq. Aboud was shot to death Wednesday, March 10, 2021. (Photo: AP)

Unknown gunmen assassinated the father of missing Iraqi activist Ali Jaseb in Maysan province in the southern city of Amara on Wednesday.

Jaseb Aboud was attacked in the Maardh area of Amara after months of campaigning for information on the fate of his son who was kidnapped in 2019 amid an outbreak of protests in Iraq. Unidentified men on a motorcycle attacked Aboud with automatic weapons, killing him on the spot, local Iraqi media outlets quoted security sources as saying.

His son Ali Jaseb Hattab, an Iraqi lawyer and activist who took part in the demonstrations, was kidnapped on Oct. 8, 2019. Surveillance camera footage has shown that the lawyer was kidnapped on an Amara street by masked men after he was lured to the area by a woman. His family had received no information on his whereabouts.

The Maysan Police Directorate said late Wednesday that they had arrested Aboud’s killer and he was now in the custody of security forces, without giving further details.

Activist Ali Agwan said the central government was “responsible for the continuation of the assassinations, which have become the biggest threat to the activists and their families,” indicating to that “the party behind the assassinations is known to us and the government, and they are the armed militia, but the government have not arrested any of them.”

Prior to his assassination Aboud publicly accused a powerful Iran-backed militia, Ansar Allah al-Awfia, of kidnapping his son and even took the dangerous step of seeking to take its commander to court.

[…]

https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/24071-Father-of-abducted-Iraqi-lawyer-and-activist-assassinated-in-Amara

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/10032021

https://t4p.co/article/2021-03-10-Ali-Jaseb?lang=en

https://english.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2021/3/11/outspoken-father-of-missing-lawyer-shot-dead-in-iraq

https://www.amnesty.org.uk/resources/iraq-human-rights-lawyer-forcibly-disappeared

Click to access EN_HRL_20191125_Irak_Disappearance-of-lawyer-Ali-Jaseb-Hattab.pdf

https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde14/1581/2019/fr/ (FRANCAIS)

Egypt: Court orders release of labour lawyer Haitham Mohammadein, immediately charged and detained

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10/03/21

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Haytham Mohamadeen

https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/case/detention-and-prosecution-haytham-mohamadeen

Click to access EN_HRL_20200130_Egypt_Detention-of-lawyer-Haytham-Mohamadeen-and-assault-on-lawyer-Gamal-Eid.pdf

https://www.amnesty.org/en/get-involved/take-action/egypt-stop-the-crackdown-of-freedom-of-expression/

لعنة التدوير.. “أمن الدولة” تحقق مع هيثم محمدين في قضية جديدة بعد يوم من إخلاء سبيله في القضية المحبوس على ذمتها منذ 22 شهرا
(ARABIC)
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Egypt: Update on Detained Labour Lawyer Haytham Mohamadeen | IAPL Monitoring Committee on Attacks on Lawyers

India: UP: Agra lawyer attacked in collectorate premises; 4 booked

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10/03/21

A lawyer was critically injured after being allegedly attacked with sticks by half a dozen people in collectorate premises in Agra in UP on Wednesday.

A long-pending dispute between two parties was cited as a reason, police said.

[…]

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/agra/up-agra-lawyer-attacked-in-collectorate-premises-4-booked/articleshow/81434578.cms

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/agra/agra-lawyer-attacked-on-collectorate-premises/articleshow/81435155.cms

Turkey: L’avocat Emin Aktar condamné à 6 ans et 3 mois de prison

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04/03/21

“Je n’ai pas commis de faute mais le tribunal a néanmoins sifflé un penalty contre moi“. C”est avec un humour grinçant que Me Mehmet Emin Aktar, ancien président du barreau de Diyarbakır, a accueilli le 14 janvier dernier sa condamnation à 6 ans et 3 mois de prison au motif “d’appartenance à une organisation” et de “propagande pour une organisation terroriste”. Il lui est reproché d’avoir participé aux activités du Congrès de la Société démocratique (DTK) en 2018. Il a été laissé en liberté mais son procès continue. Le tribunal l’a condamné aux mêmes peines qu’il prononce lors des procès intentés ces dernières années aux hommes politiques, aux représentants d’ONG et aux journalistes.

Le Congrès pour une société démocratique

Les autorités turques accusent le DTK d’être la vitrine légale du PKK et, à ce titre, considèrent que tous les membres, tous les invités, sont suspects et peuvent d’être poursuivis pour appartenance à une organisation terroriste. Leyla Güven, coprésidente du DTK, a précisé le 17 novembre 2020, dans une lettre adressée à la Secrétaire générale du Conseil de l’Europe :

j’ai coprésidé le Congrès pour la société démocratique (DTK) jusqu’il y a quatre jours (26 juin). Ce jour-là, notre siège a été fermé et nos biens ont été confisqués sans décision judiciaire. Créé en 2007, DTK est le plus vaste réseau d’organisations de la région kurde. Il a servi de plateforme démocratique pluraliste réunissant des représentants de partis politiques, d’ONG, de conseils locaux, de syndicats, de mouvements de défense des droits des femmes ou écologistes et de nombreux autres acteurs. Le DTK a mené des activités diverses, dans des domaines tels que l’éducation, l’agriculture, l’écologie, la santé publique, l’égalité entre les femmes et les hommes et, surtout, la consolidation de la paix. De nombreux dirigeants du DTK ont déjà été arrêtés depuis 2015. Tout dernièrement, le 4 juin, Musa Farisoğulları, membre du Conseil présidentiel du DTK, et moi-même avons été privés de nos mandats parlementaires et arrêtés (j’ai été libérée quelques jours plus tard). Bien que les représentants du gouvernement nous traitent aujourd’hui comme des dirigeants d’une organisation illégale, ces mêmes personnes considéraient avant 2015 que le DTK était un interlocuteur légitime avec lequel on pouvait débattre de questions politiques diverses. En 2012, par exemple, M. Cemil Çiçek, alors Président du Parlement turc, avait invité officiellement les dirigeants du DTK à soumettre leurs idées et propositions pour une constitution démocratique.

Emin Aktar est connu à Rennes : il a été l’invité du Barreau et de la Ville de Rennes

La commission des relations internationales du Barreau de Rennes avait invité Me Mehmet Emin Aktar en 2012 à son colloque des barreaux des villes européennes jumelées avec Rennes. Me Aktar, alors bâtonnier de Diyarbakir et sa consœur Me Nuşîn Uysal avaient stupéfait l’auditoire en révélant la situation dramatique des avocats en Turquie. Daniel Delaveau, maire de Rennes et Roselyne Lefrançois, adjointe aux relations internationales, n’avaient pas manqué, lors d’une réception solennelle donnée en leur honneur dans les salons de l’hôtel de ville, de rappeler la position intransigeante de la ville de Rennes sur le respect des Droits de l’Homme, des droits démocratiques et les droits des peuples.

[…]

L’avocat Emin Aktar condamné à 6 ans et 3 mois de prison

https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/mehmet-emin-aktar-ben-ceza-almadim-mahkeme-ceza-verdi-haber-1512687 (TURKCE)

International Monitor: Turkey has not been a rule of law since 2016
(ENGLISH)

The Philippines: 61 legal practitioners killed since 2016, zero convictions – lawyers’ group

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10/03/21

International Association of People's Lawyers | IAPL Monitoring Committee on Attacks on Lawyers

Sixty-one lawyers, judges, and prosecutors have been killed under the Duterte administration, according to an independent tally released by the Free Legal Assistance Group on Wednesday.

The lawyers’ group said 43% or 26 of these killings are “deemed work-related,” or connected to the victims’ legal practice. The crimes happened between July 2016 and January 2021, based on news reports and monitoring of the Lawyers Rights’ Watch Canada.

“The fact that almost half of the killings were due to work-related or possibly work-related motives is an indicator of the growing danger of practicing the legal profession in the country,” FLAG said in its report. “This, along with the fact that no one has been arrested in 73% of the killings, are indications that the government has failed to fulfill its obligation to adequately safeguard lawyers who are threatened as a result of discharging their functions.”

Fifteen of the killings are considered drug-related since the victims either represented accused drug personalities, or were implicated in the illegal drug trade themselves. The rest of the 27 incidents were believed to involve personal motives, such as debts or robbery, and other unknown reasons.

FLAG also provided a breakdown of the victims – 32 were into private legal practice, 21 were incumbent public officials, eight were former or retired public officials, and four were public interest lawyers.

[…]

https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2021/3/10/lawyers-killed-duterte-administration.html

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/11/21/61-lawyers-killed-since-duterte-assumed-office-in-2016-says-group

https://www.onenews.ph/lawyers-ask-sc-to-intervene-as-more-than-50-colleagues-have-been-killed

https://www.rappler.com/nation/half-lawyer-killings-since-2016-work-related-flag

https://www.onenews.ph/lawyers-ask-sc-to-intervene-as-more-than-50-colleagues-have-been-killed

SC office starts inventory of cases involving attacks against lawyers

SC urged to intervene attacks vs counsels, petitioners of anti-terrorism law

FLAG to SC: Protect lawyers as ‘officers of the court’

https://www.rappler.com/nation/opposition-lawmakers-seek-house-probe-attack-lawyer-iloilo

https://international.thenewslens.com/article/148284

Unending bloodbath

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/3/10/un-urges-probe-into-killings-of-philippine-activists

https://www.philstar.com/opinion/2021/03/11/2083455/killing-spree-adding-misery-pandemic

Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG)

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

https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/03/10/philippines-killings-highlight-need-international-action

N.B.: COMMENT BY GILL BOEHRINGER:

The actual figure is 63. Anyone who wishes to see the list prepared by the International Association of People’s Lawyers can obtain it from me as I was the lead researcher. There is not only a problem of long delays in dealing with murderous attacks on lawyers through the courts, but many of the cases never get to the courts. For example, police were apparently involved in two lawyer killings, according to CCTV and witness testimony, but the prosecution dismissed the charges against them on the usual ground “insufficient evidence”.

A simple examination of cases in the courts will not reveal the way in which impunity works and therefore who is doing the killings. there is no doubt that state forces-police and military-are significantly involved. There should be an independent investigation of the system of dealing with these murderous attacks on the rule of law and therefore democracy itself.