Tag Archives: CCBE

Egypt: Mohammed Al-Baqir: The imprisoned lawyer who turned into a symbol of justice

Sem categoria 22/10/2019 Leave a comment

October 22, 2019

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While the prominent human rights lawyer Mohammad Al-Baqir was attending investigations atthe supreme state security prosecution with the political activist Alaa Abd al-Fattah at the end of September, he was surprised that the prosecution ordered that he be detained and informed him that he is wanted under the same case.

The prosecution accused Al-Baqir of “belonging to a terrorist group, financing terrorism, spreading false news that undermines national security,” and then ordered his preventive detention. After that, he wastransferred blindfolded to al-Aqrab Prison, the prison with the worst reputation in Egypt.

Al-Baqir was physically and verbally abused, hisbasic rights were violated from the moment he entered prison. He was forced to walk while bending his back, showered by insults and abuse. He was stripped of all his belongings, even his personal hygiene items. They put on his prison clothes while he was blindfolded and he was driven to a cell while not being allowed to shower or change his underclothes for nine days. The prison administration also refused al-Baqir’s request to see the prison doctor and prevented him from buying clean food or water, his wife said.

The prosecution delayed the decision on a request made by Al-Baqir’s lawyer to enable him to visit his ill father, who was in intensive care. He died before seeing his son, but al-Baqir was allowed to attend the funeral.

Why al-Baqir?

Egyptian authorities are currently carrying out a systematic campaign targeting human rights lawyers who took on the mission of defending those arrested after the demonstrations of September 20, that demanded the toppling of President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi’s regime and accused it of corruption. Among the most prominent that have been arrested along with al-Baqir are Mahienour el-Massry, and Amr Imam.

…

Mohammed Al-Baqir: The imprisoned lawyer who turned into a symbol of justice

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-egypt-rights-un/u-n-rights-office-urges-egypt-to-free-lawyers-activist-idUSKBN1WX1JZ

http://www.ishr.ch/news/egypt-let-human-rights-defenders-work-better-future

https://www.fidh.org/en/issues/human-rights-defenders/egypt-arbitrary-detention-and-judicial-harassment-of-amr-imam

https://www.omct.org/human-rights-defenders/urgent-interventions/egypt/2019/10/d25561/

IFEX strongly condemns violent crackdown against Egyptian rights defenders

https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/case/arrest-mohamed-el-baqer

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/RC-9-2019-0138_EN.html

https://vwv.almanassa.net/ar/story/13097 (ARABIC)

https://ifex.org/ar/%D8%A2%D9%8A%D9%81%D9%83%D8%B3-%D8%AA%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%A8%D8%B4%D8%AF%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D9%85%D9%84%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%86%D9%8A%D9%81%D8%A9-%D8%B6%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%AF/ (ARABIC)

http://mubasher.aljazeera.net/news/%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%84-%D9%85%D8%AD%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%90-%D8%A3%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%86-%D8%A5%D8%B6%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%A7-%D8%B9%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B7%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%AA%D8%B6%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%86%D8%A7-%D9%85%D8%B9-%D8%A5%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D8%B9%D8%A8%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%AD (ARABIC)

https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2019/09/30/alaa-abdel-fattah-icone-de-la-revolution-a-nouveau-arrete-en-egypte_6013618_3212.html (FRANCAIS)

http://www.eldiario.ec/noticias-manabi-ecuador/511795-ong-dice-hay-mas-de-4000-arrestos-y-3000-acusados-tras-protestas-en-egipto/ (ESPANOL)

#الحرية_لباقر

#FreeBaker

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تجديد حبس المحامي الحقوقي محمد الباقر ١٥ يوما في اتهامه بنشر أخبار كاذبة
–
قررت نيابة أمن الدولة العليا، اليوم الأربعاء، تجديد حبس المحامي الحقوقي البارز، محمد الباقر، ١٥ يوما آخرى.
حلء ذلك على ذمة اتهامه في القضية رقم ١٣٥٦ لسنة ٢٠١٩ حصر أمن دولة، والمتهم فيها بنشر أخبار كاذبة ومشاركة جماعة إرهابية.#دفتر_أحوال_المحاكم_والنيابات
#المفوضية_المصرية_للحقوق_والحريات
(المفوضية المصرية للحقوق والحريات Facebook, 23/10/19)
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India: Mystery shrouds death of woman lawyer in city

Sem categoria 21/10/2019 Leave a comment

October 21, 2019

Image result for Deepali Priyadarshini Jena.

A body of a woman lawyer was found hanging from a ceiling fan under mysterious circumstances in her house at Lingipur under the Dhauli police station here on Saturday night.

The deceased was identified as Deepali Priyadarshini Jena. She was staying with her mother and two sisters in a rented house.

Sources said that Deepali’s sister spotted her body hanging from the ceiling fan. Getting information, police reached the spot and sent the body to the Capital Hospital for postmortem.

While the exact cause behind the incident was yet to be ascertained, family members alleged that Deepali was murdered.

Deepali’s younger sister Sefali Priyadarshini alleged foul play in the incident. She said that she had been to her friend’s house previous night when she received a call from a male friend of her sister.

“He told me that my sister has locked the room from inside and was not responding. I immediately informed police and rushed to the house. Police broke open the door and she was found hanging from the ceiling fan,” said Sefali.

Police registered a case of unnatural death and started an investigation. “The youth who had called the younger sister of the deceased is a native of Baleswar. His mobile remained switched off after the incident. We are trying to trace him,” said a police official.

https://www.dailypioneer.com/2019/state-editions/mystery-shrouds-death-of-woman-lawyer-in-city.html

http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/2019/oct/21/woman-lawyer-commits-suicide-2050702.html

https://odishatv.in/odisha/suicide-or-murder-lady-advocate-found-dead-on-bhubaneswar-outskirts-410037

Lady Advocate Death: Hunt On For ‘Absconding’ Husband-To-Be

Egypt: Release human rights lawyer Mahienour El-Masry and others arrested in crackdown

Sem categoria 21/10/2019 Leave a comment

October 18, 2019

ARTICLE 19

ARTICLE 19 calls for the immediate release of human rights defender and lawyer Mahienour El-Masry, who was arrested by Egyptian state security forces without formal charges on 22 September 2019.  Her arrest comes in a month where protestors, journalists, politicians, human rights defenders and lawyers have been arrested in mass crackdown on dissent, and we urge the Egyptian authorities to release all those detained for exercising their right to freedom of expression.

El-Masry’s family reported that she was kidnapped outside the Supreme State Security Prosecution (SSSP) building in Alexandria by three men and forced into a van. She was there in her capacity as a defence lawyer, for the questioning of her colleague and client Amr Nouhan and representing other protestors, who were arrested for taking part in protests earlier in the week. She is currently being held in pre-trial detention on “aiding a terrorist organization” and “spreading false news”.

Legal professionals who witnessed the kidnapping filed a claim with the Egyptian Prosecutor General, which in turn informed them that an arrest warrant had been issued against El-Masry. She has been detained awaiting trial, but the date is yet to be announced. She is currently detained in Al Qanater women’s prison and no date has been set for the investigation to resume.

El-Masry’s family informed ARTICLE 19 that she was questioned by the state security prosecution on 23 September 2019 following her arrest, and has been added to the case number 488/2019, dubbed “the whistles and horns case”, accused of “helping a terrorist group and publishing false news”. The case dates back to March 2019, and relates to terrorism charges brought against a number of protestors involved in a  demonstration in Cairo’s main train station following a fatal accident. El-Masry was not part of these protests. El-Masry remains in Al Qanater women’s prison pending investigation under this case.

Mahienour El-Masry has a long history of human rights activism in Egypt, where she has been arrested and jailed previously for protesting and speaking out on human rights issues. Her arrest and detention is part of an on-going crackdown on dissent in the last month.

…

https://www.article19.org/resources/egypt-release-human-rights-lawyer-mahienour-el-masry-and-others-arrested-in-crackdown/

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/opinion/article/Egypt-s-brutal-retaliation-against-activists-14546265.php

Mahinour el-Masry

https://www.facebook.com/freemahienour/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahienour_El-Massry

https://vwv.almanassa.net/ar/story/13097 (ARABIC)

https://www.amnesty.fr/presse/une-dfenseure-des-droits-humains-enleve-et-torture (FRANCAIS)

https://www.protect-lawyers.com/fr/avocat/mahinour-el-masry/ (FRANCAIS)

https://www.protect-lawyers.com/it/avvocato/mahinour-el-masry/ (ITALIANO)

#FreeMahienour

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The Philippines: Rights lawyers pay tribute to ‘fallen heroes’

Sem categoria 20/10/2019 Leave a comment

October 20, 2019

“Marami palang Ben dito.”

This was the statement of Clarissa Ramos, wife of slain Negros-based human rights lawyer Benjamin Ramos Jr., as his colleagues from the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers paid tribute to their “fallen heroes” on Oct. 19.

Ramos was shot dead in the evening of Nov. 6, 2018 in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental. He served as the go-to lawyer for the farmers and other poor of Negros. Among the last cases he handled was the case of the infamous Sagay 14 massacre.

Read: Rights lawyer gunned down in Negros

Clarissa accepted a painting from Ben’s colleagues who gathered here in Rizal Park Hotel in Manila for the 5th National Congress of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL).

“I urge the lawyers here to continue genuinely fighting for the people. Ben would always say there is nothing wrong with organizing and there is nothing wrong in defending the oppressed,” said Clarissa, adding that it is the “people will be the judge of our history.”

Apart from Ramos, the NUPL also paid tribute to lawyers Manuel Tan, Ramon Te, and slain lawyers Rodolfo Felicio and Concepcion Brizuela, one of the victims of the Ampatuan massacre. (https://www.bulatlat.com)

Rights lawyers pay tribute to ‘fallen heroes’

https://www.fidh.org/en/issues/human-rights-defenders/philippines-killing-of-human-rights-lawyer-benjamin-ramos

Lawyer Rodolfo Felicio killed

http://manilastandard.net/opinion/columns/eagle-eyes-by-tony-la-vina/293568/a-matrix-of-evil-lies.html

https://lawyersforlawyers.org/en/lawyers/connie-brizuela/

Lawyers’ group starts buildup of cases vs Duterte

https://www.euronews.com/2019/10/23/philippine-vp-says-time-for-duterte-to-halt-failed-drug-war

https://nupl.net/

Attacks on Filipino Lawyers and law workers 23 Sept 19 (IAPL MONITORING COMMITTEE REPORT)

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Tribute to Atty. Benjamin T. Ramos, Jr. and other NUPL Heroes

(National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers Facebook, 19/10/19)

IAPL SOLIDARITY STATEMENT TO NUPL CONGRESS

On the occasion of the  5th Congress of the National Union of People’s Lawyers, the International Association of People’s Lawyers sends best wishes for a productive meeting.

In solidarity, we salute the brave human rights lawyers of the NUPL who have chosen the path of resistance to tyranny, carrying on the struggle for social justice through juridical and other avenues.

You will be discussing issues of great importance and of universal significance for all organizations seeking to further the cause of social justice and the  fulfillment of the promise of the rule of law: “Unifying Our Ranks to Strengthen the Protection and Advancement of Human Rights in the Face of Adversity” under the theme:  “Conquering Challenges in People’s Lawyering”.

It is a mark of the maturity and sophistication of the NUPL that you have chosen this opportunity to gather together to reflect upon your collective capacity to achieve the aims of the NUPL under the extreme repression you face collectively and individually.

In this era of global state terror and corporate dominance of civil society, lawyers are in the frontline around the globe, bearing the brunt of authoritarian state power. Thus the NUPL has been for years subject to attacks of many kinds ranging from assassination through trumped up charges to defamatory red tagging. At this momentous Congress you will be remembering those members who have fallen to the guns of assassins who act with impunity, and we join you in paying respect to those fallen colleagues.

But take pride in your achievements, and the NUPL’s determined, brave resistance. You are a lighthouse showing the way to the lawyers of the world. The NUPL is now legendary, a model for those in other countries where lawyers for human and environmental rights and social justice are being hunted down and executed.

When the Duterte regime is in the ashcan of history, the NUPL will be there for the people.

Prof. Gill Boehringer

Prof. Stuart Russell

Co-Chairs, IAPL   October 18, 2019

No photo description available.

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Russia: Mikhail Benyash fined 30,000 RUB

Sem categoria 18/10/2019 Leave a comment

October 17, 2019

Mikhail Benyash

On 11 October 2019, Leninsky District Court of Krasnodar found Mikhail Benyash guilty of “exercising violence against a representative of authority” and fined him 30 000 RUB (almost 423 EUR).

On 23 September 2018, Mikhail Benyash was charged under article 318 of the Criminal Code of Russia, following his arrest on 9 September 2018 in Krasnodar where he had travelled to provide legal assistance to the participants of an unsanctioned protest against pension reform. The Investigative Committee claimed that Mikhail Benyash hit a police officer in the face three times and bit him on the arm. The human rights defender thoroughly rejects these accusations.

Mikhail Benyash is a defence lawyer who has been working on civil and criminal cases for the last ten years in Sochi and Krasnodar Region, Russia. In the context of authorities’ reluctance to sanction peaceful protests, the human rights defender has been providing legal assistance to the participants of rallies which were not officially approved. He has also attended a number of protests in order to monitor and prevent police brutality.

…

https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/case/judicial-harassment-mikhail-benyash

https://www.eng.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/48748/

https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/10/04/russia-defense-lawyer-arrested-beaten

https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur46/9295/2018/en/

Mexico: Asesinado en estacionamiento de tienda era un abogado penalista

Sem categoria 06/10/2019 Leave a comment

04/10/19

Durante la tarde de ayer fue privado de la vida a balazos un hombre, en el estacionamiento de un super mercado Soriana. Fue identificado como abogado penalista, con lo que suman cinco profesionistas ejecutados de ese ramo en lo que va del año 2019.

Apenas durante la mañana había sido ejecutado otro hombre en el exterior de otro centro comercial de esa misma compañía.

Sobre el muerto de la tarde, ocurrió entre los bulevares Independencia y Zaragoza, al cual se identificó como Marco Gloria Ruvalcaba, profesional del Derecho.

Nota relacionada:

Fueron testigos del hecho, quienes denunciaron al número de emergencia el homicidio perpetrado, mientras decenas de personas circulaban por el estacionamiento de dicho establecimiento.

Los primeros informes mencionan que la víctima descendió de una camioneta Ford F150 y los sicarios ya se encontraban esperándolo para dispararle, causando pánico en los clientes que se encontraban en el lugar, mismos que se ocultaron entre los autos para evitar ser blanco de las balas.

Tras cometer la acción, delincuentes huyeron de la escena del crimen, mientras que la víctima quedó tendida sin vida en el lugar.

…

https://www.periodicoelmexicano.com.mx/policiaca/asesinado-en-estacionamiento-de-tienda-era-un-abogado-penalista-4269566.html

http://puentelibre.mx/noticia/lamentan_homicidio_del_abogado_marco_gloria_ciudad_juarez/

https://diario.mx/juarez/indaga-fiscalia-entorno-laboral-de-abogado-asesinado-ayer-20191004-1570184.html

https://diario.mx/juarez/acribillado-en-estacionamiento-de-supermercado-era-abogado-penalista-20191003-1569913.html

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(L’Observatoire des Avocats Facebook, 06/10/19)

The Philippines: Murder attempt against Filipina human rights lawyer

Sem categoria 05/10/2019 Leave a comment

October 5, 2019

Human Rights Group decries murder attempt against Filipina human rights lawyer

ICHRP OFFICIAL STATEMENT

The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) decries the ambush on Atty. Criselda Heredia while she was with her daughter and client last September 23, 2019. Fortunately, the three were physically uninjured as shots were fired into Heredia’s car by unidentified gunman on board a motorcycle. The incident happened in the municipality of Panit-an on the island of Panay, Central Philippines, around 11:30 am.

Heredia is a human rights lawyer and active in anti-mining campaigns on the island. As a member of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) she handles pro bono cases for farmers, human rights defenders and political prisoners.

According to NUPL, before the shooting, Heredia was red-tagged in posters and had been receiving death threats from unidentified men visiting her office. Human rights lawyer Atty. Benjamin Ramos was murdered on the nearby island of Negros last November 7, 2018. Before Ramos’ death, he was also red-tagged with name and face included in posters rolled out across the island.

“ICHRP condemns this outright attack against Filipino human rights lawyers. There is a clear pattern of vilification and harassments which then lead to political killings,” said Mr. Peter Murphy, chair of ICHRP’s Global Council. “This only shows the continuing climate of impunity and the worsening human rights situation in the Philippines under President Duterte”.

The attack on Atty Heredia brings to total for attacks on lawyers since President Duterte came to office in July 2016 to 61, with 49 killed and 12 survivors.

…

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO1910/S00032/murder-attempt-against-filipina-human-rights-lawyer.htm

Roxas-based rights lawyer survives slay try

https://www.rappler.com/nation/241737-human-rights-group-urges-international-criminal-court-open-investigation-drug-war

Human right group files motion at ICC

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/04/19/joint-un-international-court-probe-on-slays-under-duterte-administration-sought

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/710477/victims-kin-file-additional-evidence-on-duterte-s-drug-war-at-icc/story/

Drug-war victims’ kin file 2nd ICC pleading

https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/09/30/filming-philippines-war-drugs

THE PHILIPPINES: ATTACKS AGAINST LAWYERS ESCALATING

https://lesad.be/the-philippines-attacks-against-lawyers-escalating/

Filipino human rights lawyer uninjured after gunmen ambush car

Filipino lawyers attacksed Sept 2019 (IAPL MONITORING COMMITTEE REPORT)

https://www.abogacia.es/2019/09/18/filipinas-aumentan-los-ataques-contra-los-abogados/ (ESPANOL)

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(L’Observatoire des Avocats Facebook, 05/10/19)