“If ever I fail to call you, and you are unable to hear from me as of tomorrow (Thursday, January 26, 2023), know that I have been eliminated,” are the words of Martinez Zogo’s lawyer, Louis Jules Anyuzoa.
According to reports, the lawyer for the murdered Cameroonian journalist has recently received several threats from anonymous individuals threatening to kill him.
“My life is in danger,” he confided to a relative, adding that he was “running out of the house.”
Martinez Zogo was brutally tortured to death and dumped by people believed to have had the intention of silencing him for good.
It is feared that the same perpetrators are now after the lawyer of the deceased journalist.
A brother of jailed Tajik lawyer Saidnuriddin Shamsiddinov has been sentenced to four years in prison on charges that he rejects.
Bahovaddin Shamsiddinov’s relatives told RFE/RL on January 19 that he was found guilty of allegedly being associated with the banned Group 24 movement, fraud, illegal land sales, and the spreading of false information. According to them, Shamsiddinov pleaded not guilty and called all the charges “slander.”
Officials from the Vakhsh district court confirmed to RFE/RL that Bahovaddin Shamsiddinov was sentenced to four years in prison on January 19.
The exiled spokesman of Group 24, Ubaidullo Saidi, told RFE/RL that Shamsiddinov had nothing to do with the opposition movement.
Bahovaddin Shamsiddinov’s brother, a noted lawyer and outspoken government critic, was sentenced to 8 1/2 years in prison in December 2020 after a court in Khatlon found him guilty of fraud, illegal land sales, and spreading false information.
Saidnuriddin Shamsiddinov also rejected all the charges, saying the case was politically motivated as retaliation for his open criticism of officials.
In late 2021, Shamsiddinov’s sentence was extended by eight months after a court found him guilty of having links with Group 24, which he also rejected.
Group 24 was founded by well-known businessman and opposition politician Umarali Quvatov in 2012.
In 2014, Tajikistan’s Supreme Court declared the group extremist and banned it from the country. Dozens of the group’s members and supporters have been arrested and many of them sentenced to lengthy prison terms.
In March 2015, Quvatov was assassinated in Istanbul, Turkey.
800 days ago today anti-corruption activist Saidnuriddin Shamsiddinov was arrested in #Tajikistan. He is serving a 9.5 year sentence for exposing government corruption during the COVID-19 pandemic. We call for his immediate and unconditional release. https://t.co/wy6T0DCqPVpic.twitter.com/7CdLX6WsvK
Article 6(2) of the ICESCR warrants the full realisation of the right to work, which includes providing “conditions safeguarding fundamental political and economic freedoms to the individual”
Concerning the right to work for foreign legal practitioners from other common-law jurisdictions, the HKSAR Government fails to provide valid reasons as to why they are welcomed to practise in the territory in other areas of law but to the exception of cases relating to the HKNSL
The HKSAR Government interferes with the enforcement of the norm by seeking intervention from China’s Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, albeit the highest court in the city ruled against the HKSAR Government, as shown in the legal disputes concerning Jimmy Lai Chee-ying hiring a British barrister to represent him
The HKSAR fails to provide explanation on factors justifying the deviation from the norm and also deviation from the fulfilment of the right to work as stated in Article 6 of the ICESCR
With Reference to the Committee’s List of Issue (E/C.12/CHN-HKG/Q/4) and the corresponding Replies by Hong Kong, China (“HKSAR”) (E/C.12/CHN/RQ-HKG/4), this bulletin gathers and presents information regarding the restrictions on foreign lawyers to practise in cases relating to the Hong Kong National Security Law (“HKNSL”). The full realisation of lawyers’ economic right to work which is an integral part of the ICESCR as enshrined in Article 6 is concerned here.
Restricting lawyers’ economic rights to suppress their protection of the proper exercise of human rights
Article 6(2) of the Covenant stipulates that a State Party should achieve the full realisation of the right to work by providing “conditions safeguarding fundamental political and economic freedoms to the individual” (emphasis added)
The HKSAR government failed to provide valid reasons, as corroborated by the city’s top court, as to why it is justified to impose additional restraints on foreign legal practitioners’ political and economic freedom to practise in HKNSL cases when they could generally practise in any other areas of laws
We strongly urge clarification from HKSAR on its compliance with its treaty obligations under the ICECSR despite the information and the established fact patterns above which suggest otherwise.
我們日前向聯合國經濟、社會和文化權利委員會分別提交有關香港及中國律師執業權利的報告。 29P has submitted 2 bulletins on Hong Kong & Chinese lawyers' rights to the UN Committee of Economic, Social & Cultural Rights recently, check these out on our website 👉🏼 https://t.co/pSIOLk2R02pic.twitter.com/nRrt9BZa1k
Today is the 38th birthday of Hong Kong Human Rights Lawyer #ChowHangTung. She is currently being remanded for allegedly violating the National Security Law. She shared an article discussing about crime and punishment on her social media today. Happy Birthday Hang Tung! 🎂 pic.twitter.com/bf8I46WmTz
人權倡議工作經常伴隨各種心理健康傷害，今次讓我們了解一下甚麼是政治暴力創傷。 Assessing political violence trauma is essential for all human rights defenders, let's get to know more about our mental health service 👉🏼 https://t.co/dAfFCBQUzZpic.twitter.com/CIQMynkD6N
Imprisoned journalist #ZhangZhan offered a rare insight into her prison life in a recent letter to her family.
Zhan is two years into a four-year sentence for "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" while covering the COVID-19 lockdown.@WilliamYang120https://t.co/buGvJboFef
Turkish prosecutors have launched an investigation into the presidents of 12 bar associations across the country on allegations of insulting the Turkish state due to a joint statement they made against the country’s military operations in Syria and Iraq, Turkish Minute reported, citing the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA).
The investigation was launched under the controversial Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), which concerns the crime of insulting the Turkish nation, state, the republic and the state organs, against the presidents of the bar associations including those of the southeastern provinces of Diyarbakır, Van and Mardin.
The presidents of the 12 bar associations made the joint statement last November in the wake of the airstrikes conducted by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) in northern Syria and Iraq against Kurdish militants whom Turkey accuses of terrorism.
In their statement the presidents of the bar associations called for an end to Turkey’s military operations in Syria and Iraq and said they must defend peace under all circumstances.
Diyarbakır Bar Association President Nahit Eren said there was no element of a crime in their statement and that the investigation aims to intimidate them into remaining silent.
The investigation file has been sent to the Justice Ministry by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office as prosecutors need to get permission from the ministry for investigations under Article 301 of the TCK.
Also in 2019: Since 2016, in Turkey 551 lawyers have been sentenced to 3356 years in prison over terrorism-related charges, mostly membership in terrorist organisations. https://t.co/4Z36Mqm5Mq
A lawyer and a process server were shot and wounded while serving a demolition order to a farmer in Barangay Cavite West, Palo, Leyte, on Wednesday morning, Jan. 25.
The victims were identified as Alexander Lacaba, 60, a private practitioner, and Adolfo Petilla, 59, the process server of Branch 43, Regional Trial Court here.
Initial police report disclosed that Sheriff Danilo Obediencia, together with the victims, and a representative from the Commission on Human Rights were implementing a writ of demolition against the property occupied by the suspect, Conrado Boren Sr., 67.
The suspect reportedly fired at the demolition team, wounding the victims who were brought to the nearest hospital.
Boren was arrested by police escorting the demolition team. Recovered from his possession was a caliber .45 with three empty shells and a misfired cartridge.
Charges for two counts of frustrated murder and violation of Republic Act 10591 (Comprehensive Law on Firearms and Ammunition) are now being prepared against the suspect.
Environmental lawyer Dang Dinh Bach is one of several silenced by the Vietnamese government after attempts to wean the country off of coal and protect communities from public health hazards.
International NGOs are rallying around prominent environmental lawyer Dang Dinh Bach on the one-year anniversary of his five-year prison sentence in Vietnam with the launch of the standwithbach.org website and the #StandwithBach social media campaign calling for his immediate release.
Numerous civil society organizations including Global Witness, Friends of the Earth US, Earthrights International, International Land Coalition, Grassroots Foundation and International Rivers are supporting the campaign and calling on the Vietnamese Government to immediately release Bach. The groups are also demanding that G7 nations providing multi-billion dollar funding for Vietnam’s just energy transition support this call since it will be impossible to successfully implement the transition while environmental and climate leaders such as Bach are in jail.
“Bach is one of several environmental leaders to be charged with tax offenses that are increasingly being used to silence civil society in Vietnam,” said Maureen Harris, Senior Advisor from International Rivers. “The growing criminalization of environmental leaders in Vietnam must end.”
Bach was imprisoned for “tax evasion” after leading a campaign to reduce Vietnam’s reliance on coal. As the founder of the Law and Policy of Sustainable Development Research Centre, he has dedicated his life to protecting communities from harmful pollution, phasing out plastic waste, and supporting the government’s transition to clean energy. He has engaged in numerous hunger strikes to protest his conviction and Vietnam’s use of ambiguous tax laws to silence environmental and climate leaders.
“I never imagined that Bach would be imprisoned for the work he has done to help people,” said his wife, Thao, in this video, also released as part of the #StandwithBach campaign. “His top priority has always been the health and well-being of the people of Vietnam.” She also recently wrote this op-ed: This Lunar New Year, I Want My Husband Home.
Bach was not granted a fair trial. He was not allowed to meet with his lawyer until seven months after he was arrested and his sentence was much harsher than is usual for people accused of tax evasion. United Nations experts suggest that Bach’s prosecution was politically motivated.
Bach is one of several environmental defenders who have been imprisoned in Vietnam since June 2021 on charges of income tax evasion.
The Karnataka High Court recently directed the State government to pay Rs 3 lakh as compensation to a 23 year old lawyer who was illegally arrested by the police last month.
The Bench of Justice M Nagarasanna observed that arrest of the lawyer was against the principles laid down in Arnesh Kumar judgement and clarified that the compensation given by the court would not affect the rights of the lawyer to seek additional compensation in civil court.
In the instant case, the petitioner owned some land that abutted the land owned by one Bhawani and her husband K Vasanth Gowda.
It is alleged that the Gowda started obstructing the petitioner’s property and was also trying to erect a permanent gate in order to prevent the petitioner and his family from using the road leadin to their agricultural land.
Pursuant to same, secured an order of temporary injunction against Gowda and sought help of the police to protect his property. However , on 2nd December 2022, the police closed the case calling it a land dispute.
On 22nd December itself, Gowda’s wife registered a complaint against there petitioner u.s 447 and 379 of IPC for alleged theft of gate and criminal trespass.
The petitioner submitted that even before the FIR was registered, the police barged into his house at about 8 pm, manhandled him and then dragged him to the police station.
Pakistan People’s Party leader Sardar Latif Khosa’s son and Supreme Court lawyer Balkh Sher Khosa was shot injured by unidentified armed men here Monday night.
Balkh Sher Khosa was coming out of Punjab University in his car when two unidentified armed motorcyclists sprayed bullets at his vehicle outside the gate close to Iqbal Town and sped the scene.
As a result of firing, Balkh Sher was injured and rushed to Doctors Hospital for treatment. Police cordoned off the area after the attack and conducted operation for the assailants but no arrest could be made. However, Sardar Latif Khosa told media that Sher Khosa had come from Multan after appearing in a case and visited the Punjab University to meet his clients.
He said as soon as his son came out of the university in his vehicle, two armed motorcyclists opened fire at him. He said it was ironic that the law and order situation of the provincial capital was pathetic.
Dated: 24-01-2023 پریس ریلیز سردار اکبر علی ڈوگر صدر لاہور ہائیکورٹ بار ایسوسی ایشن، سہیل شفیق چوہدری نائب صدر لاہور ہائیکورٹ بار ایسوسی ایشن، رائے عثمان احمد سیکرٹری لاہور ہائیکورٹ بار ایسوسی ایشن اور رانا علی اختر خاں فنانس سیکرٹری لاہور ہائیکورٹ بار ایسوسی ایشن نے اپنے مشترکہ بیان میں سابق گورنر پنجاب و سینئر رہنما پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی سردار محمد لطیف خان کھوسہ ایڈووکیٹ سپریم کورٹ اور انکے بیٹے بلخ شیر کھوسہ پر قاتلانہ حملہ کی شدید مذمت کی۔ بلخ شیر کھوسہ کو دو موٹر سائیکل سوار افراد نے پیر کی رات گئے فائرنگ کر کے زخمی کر دیا اورفرار ہو گئے۔ عہدیداران لاہور ہائیکورٹ بار ایسوسی ایشن نے ملک میں امن و امان کی مخدوش حالت پر غم و غصہ کا اظہار کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ عوام بالخصوص وکلاء برادری کو آئے روز دہشت گردی کا سامنا ہے۔ انہوں نے ارباب اختیار سے مطالبہ کیا کہ وکلاء کو خصوصی تحفظ فراہم کیا جائے کیونکہ وہ معاشرے کے مظلوم افراد کو حصول انصاف کیلئے ہمہ وقت مصروف کار رہتے ہیں جن کی حفاظت کو اولین ترجیح دی جائے۔ انہوں نے سردار بلخ شیر کھوسہ ایڈووکیٹ کی جلد صحت یابی کیلئے دعا کی۔ رائے عثمان احمد سیکرٹری لاہور ہائیکورٹ بار ایسوسی ایشن، لاہور
Six Egyptian lawyers were released from incarceration on Sunday after being arrested late last week for assaulting three court workers in the Mediterranean city of Marsa Matrouh.
A criminal court sentenced each of the lawyers to two years in prison on Wednesday for the assault.
The lawyers’ imprisonment was answered with a Criminal Court boycott by the union to which they belong.
All lawyers were told to stay away from courts and to not respond to questions from prosecutors.
On Sunday, a Marsa Matrouh appeals court overturned Wednesday’s verdict and scheduled another hearing for February 5.
After the lawyers’ release, union president Abdel Halim Allam issued a statement ending the boycott.
Sunday’s court session was attended by hundreds of union lawyers to show solidarity with their imprisoned colleagues.
After the six men’s release, social media videos showed lawyers celebrating outside the court where the hearing took place.
A committee of union lawyers took the stand to defend the imprisoned men on Sunday. It was led by Allam.
One of the lawyers reportedly got into an argument with a court worker at a Marsa Matrouh court on January 5.
The situation worsened when five of his colleagues joined him in attacking the worker, who called on two of his friends for aid.
After hearing that court employees had been injured, a judge at the court submitted a formal complaint to a higher judicial authority, which ordered the lawyers’ arrest.
CFJ calls on #Egypt's authorities to provide an appropriate atmosphere that enables the practice of the legal profession, and to ensure that all lawyers are able to practice all their professional functions without intimidation, obstruction, harassment or improper interference. https://t.co/ZAPQh4NN1e
Egypt: On the international day of the endangered lawyer, the ICJ calls on the Egyptian authorities to stop harassing and prosecuting human rights lawyers for carrying out their work and release them immediately. Read more here: https://t.co/VKsXk5gTrQ
Today, January 24, marks the Day of the Endangered Lawyer. As a Canadian lawyer I want to draw attention to the challenges facing some members of the legal profession in Afghanistan. Since the Taliban government assumed power in the country more than a year ago, the risk of retaliation and danger have only increased for many lawyers and judges, particularly women, advocates say.
For Nasrin (whose name has been changed to protect her identity), leaving Afghanistan was the last resort.
She had spent decades developing pioneering legislation and policies as a judge and legal advocate. When the Taliban took over in August 2021, everything changed. Facing death threats, she ultimately left. “I didn’t have any choice,” she told me. “I left my country, my house.” Now she and other legal activists are warning about the ever-increasing risks that lawyers and judges in the country still face and the need for countries like Canada to step up their efforts to help at-risk Afghans.
“If a woman wants to be a leader, like head of a court … it’s a very big position, but it is very dangerous,” Nasrin says.
Judges like Nasrin, as well as prosecutors, have been threatened with reprisals from the people they tried and the Taliban themselves. She is in contact with colleagues in the legal profession who remain in Afghanistan, and says the situation is worse than a year ago, as lawyers and judges fear for their safety.
“The first line is judges, the second line is defence lawyers and prosecutors … they are searching to find them,” she says.
The development of the Afghanistan Independent Bar Association (AIBA) in 2008 was part of a broader effort to build a non-governmental body that would regulate the legal profession and provide resources to support lawyers and access to legal services. But in November 2021, it was dismantled by armed Taliban soldiers and the Ministry of Justice gained possession of the AIBA’s database, containing contact information of members. The organization is now relaunching itself in exile, from Brussels.
Tebasum Durrani: Afghan lawyers and judges in danger https://t.co/V4ytnXk9NG "the IBA’s Human Rights Institute says that the unique risks for women lawyers and judges predated the Taliban’s takeover, but weren’t factored in properly into many initial evacuation efforts in 2021." pic.twitter.com/IlHkyrfaV4
A l’occasion de la journée internationale des avocats en danger, @GavaudanJ et @raana_habibi adressent un message en soutien aux confrères menacés dans l'exercice de leur fonction.
En el #DíaInternacionalDelAbogadoEnPeligro, la @ICJ_org, a través de su Centro para la Independencia de Jueces y Abogados (CIJL), llama a todos los Estados a respetar, proteger y garantizar la independencia de la profesión jurídica y proteger a las y los abogados en peligro. pic.twitter.com/rz8VFHWeHS
On International Day of the Endangered Lawyer, we stand with Afghan judges, lawyers & prosecutors whose life’s work promoting the rule of law was erased overnight by the Taliban. Courts have been dissolved, judges ousted, prosecutors sidelined & lawyers threatened. 1/2
— U.S. Special Envoy Rina Amiri (@SE_AfghanWGH) January 24, 2023
In Afghanistan, women made up 1/4 of the legal profession. On International Day of the Endangered Lawyer, the US denounces the Taliban’s restrictions on the ability of women & girls to exercise their fundamental freedoms.
#DayoftheEndangeredLawyer die #Afghanistan Petition wurde in Berlin vom Pförtner entgegengenommen. Sorry, von (m)einer grünen Außenministerin erwarte ich, dass zumindest sich eine Staatssekretär*in drei Minuten Zeit nimmt. Werde diesen Affront bei Gelegenheit ansprechen müssen. pic.twitter.com/O6fkSTbhYF
— ABA Justice Defenders Program (@JusticeDefend) January 24, 2023
President @lubnashuja on Day of the Endangered Lawyer today 24 Jan, this year focuses on Afghanistan
"We honour the courage and commitment of lawyers around the world who continue to do their job and fight for justice – despite the considerable risk to them and their loved ones" pic.twitter.com/l34qPxs2gj
The CBA calls on governments around the world to uphold the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, adopted by the Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders in 1990.#DayofTheEndangeredLawyer
Today is the International Day of the Endangered Lawyer, with this year’s focus being put on endangered lawyers in Afghanistan. We stand in solidarity with our Afghan colleagues and encourage you to read our quick explainer guide as to why this day is so important. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/E1DDb91Ka1
— Socialist Lawyers’ Association of Ireland (@SocialistLawIre) January 24, 2023
#DayoftheEndangeredLawyer Aujourd’hui, il n’y a plus d’avocats en Afghanistan. Il n’y a plus de barreau en Afghanistan… plusieurs avocats ont été tués sans que l’on puisse en connaître le nombre exact, plus d’une centaine d’avocats emprisonnés…et la liste n'est pas close… pic.twitter.com/dyl8atAreo
#DayoftheEndangeredLawyer Aujourd’hui, il n’y a plus d’avocats en Afghanistan. Il n’y a plus de barreau en Afghanistan. …plusieurs avocats ont été tués sans que l’on puisse en connaître le nombre exact, plus d’une centaine d’avocats emprisonnés…et la liste n'est pas close… pic.twitter.com/Dz1gO48jGn
Unser Protest vor dem AA: Es geht um die Verfolgung der Rechtsanwält*innen in Afghanistan. Die Bundesregierung muss schnellstmöglich u. unbürokratisch dafür sorgen, dass die Kolleg*innen nach D einreisen und hier einen Aufenthalt bekommen können! #DayoftheEndangeredLawyerpic.twitter.com/Njl6uQ8rOJ
🔵Día del abogado en peligro | Resaltamos la labor las personas que defienden #DDHH a través de la profesión legal. Abogada/os defensoras/es de #DDHH enfrentan riesgos como amenazas y ataques que buscan inhibir su trabajo o silenciar abusos que denuncian #DayoftheEndangeredLawyerpic.twitter.com/LsPLSmvsS4
The Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers stresses that States have the duty to ensure that lawyers carry out all their professional functions without intimidation, obstacles, harassment, or undue interference. #DayoftheEndangeredLawyerpic.twitter.com/Lij3zpYoR9
Oggi ricorre la Giornata internazionale dell'avvocato minacciato #DayoftheEndangeredLawyer, quest'anno dedicata ad avvocate/i afgane/i. Non sarà possibile, come in genere facciamo, organizzare un presidio in toga dinanzi l'ambasciata dell'Afganistan, di fatto un guscio vuoto. 1/ pic.twitter.com/OYpx2r7kPw
Afghanistan : JOURNÉE DE L'AVOCAT EN DANGER – 24 janvier 2023 La FBE soutient tous ceux qui sont en danger en Afghanistan. Depuis la prise de Kaboul par les talibans en 2021, la situation des avocats, juges et procureurs en Afghanistan s'est aggravée. pic.twitter.com/4OmJ2EI7U9
— NEGAR, soutien aux femmes d'Afghanistan (@NegarAfgWomen) January 24, 2023
According to the United Nations Human Rights Council, the situation is so desperate for #AfghanWomen that they are committing suicide at a rate of one or two a day.
Hier, c'était la Journée de l'Avocat en Danger. La situation en #Afghanistan a été retenue pour l'édition 2023. ASF France fait partie des dizaines d'organisations signataires du rapport sur l'Avocat en Danger en Afghanistan. Voici le lien pour y accéder: https://t.co/3Ym2QmV4ZZpic.twitter.com/WDdVpiK46o
// JOURNÉE DE L'AVOCAT EN DANGER // Un grand merci aux Bâtonniers @AbderrazakKila1 KILANI et @chawkitabib de leur présence à Grenoble pour des échanges intéressants au sujet des droits de la défense, en Tunisie. pic.twitter.com/gDYz54ZnPP
— Union des Jeunes Avocats GRENOBLE (@UJAGrenoble) January 25, 2023
Our colleagues at @chr_aba & the Coalition for the Endangered Lawyer—a network of national + international organizations, & bar associations—pause to recognize the International Day of the Endangered Lawyer.
IAPL Monitoring Committee on Attacks on Lawyers 
