This is not the time to look away. We need to keep a spotlight on what is happening to the Navalny lawyers and to our other compatriots across the globe.
Alexei Navalny, the fiercest opponent of Vladimir Putin’s regime of terror in Russia, has suffered poisoning, false imprisonment and torture for exercising his basic right to protest the actions of his government. He is currently scheduled for transfer to a “special security” penal colony where his access to the outside world will be even more limited than it is now. (Navalny has not been able to speak to his family for over a year). Visits from his lawyers are his lifeline both legally and practically.
On Oct. 13, the eve of a court challenge to the transfer, the Russian authorities searched the homes and offices of Navalny’s lawyers—Vadim Kobzev, Alexei Liptser and Igor Sergunin—and arrested them on charges of participating in an “extremist” group. They are presently being held in pre-trial detention.
Along with disbarment, this is one of the tools authoritarian regimes use to dilute the efficacy of opposition figures; they target the lawyers who represent them. It is happening everywhere, including Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Guatemala, Iran and Belarus, to name a few.
Lawyers should not be subject to persecution and reprisals for seeking to ensure the rights of their clients. That is what we are called to do. The Coalition for Endangered Lawyers, an informal network of national and international human rights and legal organizations including the ABA Center for Human Rights, has sounded the alarm, declaring that such repression of lawyers is an existential threat to the rule of law everywhere. We agree.
The smears began the day Christian Ulate began representing jailed Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora: tweets accusing the lawyer of being a leftist or questioning his legal credentials. He began to fear he was being surveilled.
Ulate had taken over the case in August 2022 from two other lawyers, Romeo Montoya García and Mario Castañeda, after the prosecutor in Zamora’s case announced that they were under investigation. After less than three months of representing Zamora, Ulate left Guatemala for a trip to Honduras. The attacks, he said, stopped abruptly.
Looking back, Ulate believes the harassment was part of a clear pattern. Other lawyers who would go on to represent Zamora — there were 10 in total by the time of the journalist’s June conviction on money laundering charges widely considered to be retaliation for his work — were harassed, investigated, or even jailed.
“We knew that the system was against us, and that everything we, the legal team, did around the case was being closely scrutinized,” Ulate told CPJ.
Zamora’s experience retaining legal counsel, while extreme, is hardly unique. CPJ has identified lawyers of journalists under threat in Iran, China, Belarus, Turkey, and Egypt, countries that are among the world’s worst jailers of journalists. To be sure, lawyers are not just targeted for representing journalists. “Globally lawyers are increasingly criminalized or disciplined for taking on sensitive cases or speaking publicly on rule of law, human rights, and good governance issues,” said Ginna Anderson, the associate director of the American Bar Association, which monitors global conditions for legal professionals.
But lawyers and human rights advocates told CPJ that when a lawyer is harassed for representing a journalist, the threats can have chilling effects on the free flow of information. Inevitably, journalists unable to defend themselves against retaliatory charges are more likely to be jailed – leaving citizens less likely to be informed of matters of public interest.
A barometer of civil liberties
Attacks on the legal profession – like attacks on journalists – can be a barometer of civil liberties in a country, legal experts told CPJ. Hong Kong, once viewed as a safe harbor for independent journalists, is one such example. The territory has seen multiple members of the press prosecuted under Beijing’s 2020 national security law, including media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai, who faces life imprisonment. Lai, a British citizen, is represented by both U.K. and Hong Kong legal teams, which work independently of each other, and both have faced pressure.
The former head of Guatemala’s anticorruption office has been granted asylum in the United States, more than two years after he was forced to flee his country.
Juan Francisco Sandoval acknowledged the decision with a social media post on Thursday, saying it was confirmation of the threats he had endured.
“Granting me political asylum is further evidence of the political persecution of which I am a victim,” Sandoval wrote.
He explained he was targeted “for having participated in the investigation of illicit political-economic networks embedded in the state” across six separate administrations.
Worried for his safety, Swedish Ambassador Hans Magnusson accompanied him, as did journalists and human rights advocates.
They feared he would otherwise be arrested on trumped-up charges. Just one day earlier, in an abrupt turn of events, Sandoval had been fired as head of the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity (FECI).
El MP había reportado que la Fiscalía de Asuntos Internos y la PNC realizaban cateos en inmuebles ubicados en la zona 5, San Miguel Petapa y Mixco.
La casa de los papás de Juan Francisco Sandoval, exjefe de la Fiscalía Especial contra la Impunidad (Feci) del Ministerio Público (MP), fueron allanadas la mañana de este lunes 28 de agosto, según lo confirmaron familiares de los afectados.
Además, se confirmó la captura de la abogada Claudia González, defensora de jueces y exfiscales perseguidos y una nueva orden de captura contra Sandoval.
En la mañana el MP informó que la Fiscalía de Asuntos Internos en coordinación con la Policía Nacional Civil (PNC), realizaban diligencias de allanamiento en inmuebles ubicados en la zona 5, en San Miguel Petapa y Mixco.
El exjefe de la Feci, Juan Francisco Sandoval, publicó en su cuenta de X, antiguamente Twitter, que la vivienda de sus papás estaba siendo cateada por el MP.
Sandoval escribió: “En este momento están allanando la casa de mis padres y la de mi abogada @Claudia_GonzaO -Claudia González- en Guatemala”.
👉🏽 La fiscalía de Asuntos Internos la señala del delito de abuso de autoridad pese a que @Claudia_GonzaO no ha sido funcionaria pública sino defensora de operadores de justicia criminalizados por el Estado
#UltimaHora 🚨 Ministerio Público y PNC detienen a Claudia González exmandataria de CICIG y abogada de Virginia Laparra.
📌 Recientemente, González fue condecorada con el premio Lawyers for Lawyers 2023, el premio es otorgado a abogados que enfrentan alto riesgo por su trabajo.… pic.twitter.com/br4wFq1Jen
— Prensa Comunitaria Km169 (@PrensaComunitar) August 28, 2023
🇬🇹🇬🇹LAWGEF denounces raids by the PNC on the homes of @JSandoval1982, Claudia Gonzalez Orellana and Siomara Sosa. This is a CLEAR act of harassment and intimidation against anti-corruption crusaders❌❌
#Urgente 🚨 La abogada Claudia González, defensora de @JSandoval1982 y Virginia Laparra dice que le extraña que le giren orden de detención ya que por su trabajo siempre está en torre de Tribunales.
"Esperamos que el fiscal Noe Rivera venga bien preparado" dijo.
— Prensa Comunitaria Km169 (@PrensaComunitar) August 28, 2023
NUEVAS ÓRDENES DE CAPTURA
Juan Francisco Sandoval Alfaro, Eva Siomara Sosa Perez de Hernández y Claudia Gonzalez Orellana, tienen orden de captura por múltiples delitos pic.twitter.com/1TaM4gtbTU
#Urgente 🚨 | El MP confirma la detención de la exmandataria de CICIG y abogada, Claudia González Orellana.
La exfuncionaria ejerce la defensa penal de Virginia Laparra, Juan Francisco Sandoval, Leily Santizo y Eva Siomara Sosa, quienes aseguran una persecución política pic.twitter.com/GfWiZ7jALb
Recibo noticias muy preocupantes sobre la detención de la abogada, defensora de derechos humanos y ex fiscal Claudia González Orellana en #Guatemala. Las autoridades deben garantizar sus derechos @GuatemalaONU.
— Mary Lawlor UN Special Rapporteur HRDs (@MaryLawlorhrds) August 28, 2023
🚨🚨🚨 Emiten Orden de captura en contra de la abogada CLAUDIA GONZALEZ ORELLANA por el delito de Abuso de Autoridad. pic.twitter.com/FNbGbTBY6K
CLAUDIA GONZÁLEZ ORELLANA abogada de prófugos se despertó muy de mañana. Ojalá y haya tenido su M/72 lista y los tenis puestos.@MPguatemala la Fiscalía de Asuntos Internos realiza allanamiento en casa de la abogada. pic.twitter.com/VwIqhNhycy
— Alma Marcela Silva De Alegría (@FritaAnita) August 28, 2023
Claudia González Orellana is a Guatemalan lawyer with a strong track record in strengthening judicial independence and the rule of law in the country. Read in this interview by @ImpunityWatch how she upholds the fight against impunity in adversity. https://t.co/DQtXO8ayCFpic.twitter.com/OfsBW3zlQ4
Wij feliciteren de moedige mensenrechtenadvocaat Claudia González Orellana uit Guatemala met het winnen van de Lawyers for Lawyers Award. Zij zet zich o.a. samen met ons in voor de jurist Virginia Laparra, die onterecht vastzit vanwege haar strijd tegen corruptie. https://t.co/y976B5TEBe
#Guatemala – 28 août 2023, l'avocate et ancienne responsable de la Commission internationale contre l'impunité au Guatemala (CICIG), Claudia González Orellana, arrêtée à son domicile après l'émission d'un mandat d'arrêt pour abus d'autorité. pic.twitter.com/e57YrKi7yF
On June 13, 2023, José Rubén Zamora was sentenced to six years for “money laundering.” He was found not guilty of influence peddling and blackmail. Samari Gómez was found not guilty of the crime of disclosing confidential information.
The ABA CHR will be releasing a Trial Observation Report soon.
Brief Summary of the Case:
As part of the Clooney Foundation for Justice’s TrialWatch initiative, the ABA CHR has been monitoring in person the trials of José Rubén Zamora & Samari Gómez. José Rubén Zamora, an award-winning Guatemalan journalist and the Founding Director of the now-shuttered Guatemalan outlet ElPeriódico, is being prosecuted for money laundering, influence peddling and blackmail. He is being tried alongside former prosecutor Samari Gómez, from the Special Prosecutor’s Office against Impunity (FECI), who has been charged with disclosing confidential information. The prosecution has requested that Zamora be sentenced to 40 years’ imprisonment.
The case against Zamora was triggered by a complaint filed by Ronald Giovanni García Navarijo on July 26, 2022. Navarijo is a former banker who had reportedly been a source of information for ElPeriódico and is currently under investigation for money laundering, embezzlement, and other alleged crimes in Guatemala.[1] Navarijo asserted that Zamora had asked him to launder 300,000 QZ ($40,000). According to the indictment, the money laundering charge is based on the inference that it was “possible” the 300,000 QZ were the proceeds of blackmail. The influence peddling charge is based on an allegation that José Rubén Zamora “influenced through Mr. Juan Francisco Sandoval Alfaro [the former head of FECI]” Assistant Prosecutor Samari Carolina Gómez Díaz so that she would “make decisions that would allow the latter [Navarijo] to obtain an undue benefit.” The blackmail charge is based on an allegation that Zamora asked Navarijo for ‘favors’ “in exchange for not making public facts [in] ElPeriódico” that would have been harmful to Navarijo.
[…]
January 19, 2023 – Arrest warrants are reportedly issued for defense lawyers Romeo Montoya García and Mario Castañeda based on the investigation initiated by the prosecution on August 3. Castañeda is arrested and detained that same day.[15]
February 17, 2023 – Castañeda is transferred to what news media has called a “highly dangerous” maximum security prison in Matamoros.[16]
February 21 – Casteñeda accepts the charge of conspiracy to obstruct justice. He is sentenced to 3 years in prison, which is commuted with a payment.[17]
March 3 – Juan Francisco Solórzano Foppa and Justino Brito Torres resign from José Rubén Zamora’s defense, citing the criminal proceedings against them.[18]
April 20 – Foppa and Torres are arrested.[19]
April 25 – Romeo Montoya García turns himself in and accepts the charge of conspiracy to obstruct justice. He is sentenced to six years in prison, which is reduced to three years. His remaining sentence is commuted with payment.[20]
May 2 – Trial: Zamora’s trial begins with Patricia Guillermo de Chea and Ricardo Sergio Szejner as his defense lawyers.[21] There are trial hearings on May 2-4, 8-11, 18-19, 22-23, and 30-31.
May 2-4 – Trial: When presented with an expert report on May 3, Guillermo de Chea indicates that she “does not know that document” and that she “does not know much of the file,” explaining that she did not request a postponement out of respect for the court’s agenda.[22] The following day, when the presiding judge observed that defense counsel still did not have certain files, she orders Gómez’s defense lawyers to deliver all the evidence in their possession to Zamora’s defense counsel, and further orders Zamora’s lawyers to request any remaining files from the prosecution.[23]
May 8 – Trial: At the beginning of the afternoon session, Szejner requests authorization to leave early to attend a medical appointment.[24]
May 9 – Trial: At the beginning of the hearing, Guillermo de Chea informs the court that Szejner has withdrawn from the defense team, citing health issues and his doctor’s recommendation.[25]
May 11 – Trial: At the end of this hearing, Zamora requests that the court assign him a lawyer from the Institute of Public Criminal Defense (IDPP).[26] The trial is postponed until May 18.
May 12 – The IDPP appoints public defender Fidenza Orozco García to Zamora’s case.[27]
Legal Director of @TrialWatch Stephen Townley was quoted in the @FinancialTimes in June on @ChepeZamora's trial. “International standards require that governments ensure lawyers are able to perform their duties without intimidation or harassment,” he said. https://t.co/lhWc1PSjWw
— Clooney Foundation for Justice (@ClooneyFDN) August 1, 2023
On June 16, 2023, OIAD’s Annual General Assembly was held in Marseille, attended by almost 80 participants both online and at the Maison des Avocats de Marseille.
The event was marked by the testimonies of lawyers from around the world who agreed to share their experiences within the profession, along with the adoption of the activity, strategic and financial reports. It was also highlighted by the handover of the Presidency and the election of a new member to the Observatory’s Board, the first awarding of the Observatory Human Rights Award, as well as thematic workshops which enabled members to exchange views.
The powerful testimonies of lawyers in danger highlight the work of the Observatory.
The participation of Tunisian lawyer Mounir Baatour and Ukrainian lawyer Tatiana Havryliuk at the Marseille Bar Association contributed to the exchange of ideas between OIAD member lawyers. From the podium, the human rights defenders shared their experiences with their colleagues, who sometimes face particular dangers in their home countries.
— Observatoire international des avocats en danger (@ProtectLawyers) July 7, 2023
🇹🇳#Turkey Today is the hearing before the Ankara Regional Court of Appeal, for which OIAD wishes to express its support for its colleagues from the Hukuk & Hayat lawyers' association, sentenced by a regime that denies the very freedoms of advocacy lawyers. https://t.co/JvjX0MDzAOpic.twitter.com/86HtZ5BdBt
— Observatoire international des avocats en danger (@ProtectLawyers) July 5, 2023
🇹🇳#Turquie Aujourd’hui se tient l’audience devant la Cour d’appel régionale d’Ankara ; l’OIAD souhaite exprimer son soutien à ses confrères membres de l’association d’avocats Hukuk & Hayat, condamnés par un régime attentatoire aux libertés des avocats défenseurs des droits. https://t.co/JvjX0MDzAOpic.twitter.com/Uw7AoW4T5t
— Observatoire international des avocats en danger (@ProtectLawyers) July 5, 2023
📰 Como cada fin de mes, compartimos el compromiso de la abogacía con los #DDHH en nuestra #newsletter.
A Guatemalan judge has ordered the arrest of three lawyers defending jailed journalist José Rubén Zamora
A Guatemalan judge on Thursday ordered the arrest of three lawyers defending jailed journalist José Rubén Zamora.
The announcement by prosecutors was the latest in a case that has drawn concerns about press freedom in Guatemala.
Zamora is the director of El Periódico, a newspaper that has published critical articles about alleged corruption under President Alejandro Giammattei.
The award-winning editor was arrested nine months ago on charges of blackmail and money laundering.
Prosecutors said the judge issued arrest warrants for Zamora’s defense attorneys, including lawyer Juan Francisco Solórzano Foppa, an opposition activist. Foppa said he was arrested while traveling to the court to turn himself in.
The lawyers are accused of participating in the alleged money laundering by negotiating a sales contract for an artwork to cover up money given to Zamora.
Press freedom groups have said the prosecution of Zamora is politically motivated. His defense has maintained he received a $38,000 donation to keep the paper afloat and asked a friend to deposit it in a bank because the donor did not want to be identified.
El abogado Juan Francisco Solórzano Foppa fue detenido este jueves, junto con otro profesional del derecho, señalados de falsificar documentos para supuestamente justificar un presunto lavado de dinero que implica a José Rubén Zamora. pic.twitter.com/fnxeBkD8ri
Dos abogados son capturados en el caso donde es vinculado José Rubén Zamora. La audiencia de primera declaración se fijo para este viernes 21 de abril.https://t.co/PXEBOacYt6pic.twitter.com/NQ3cqeVsxD
#Sucesos Los abogados de la firma Foppa y Asociados, Solórzano Foppa y Justino Brito Torres, fueron capturados tras ejercer la defensa de José Rubén Zamora.
Guatemalan authorities arrested a lawyer representing the jailed director of an investigative newspaper Thursday and pursued a second lawyer for alleged obstruction of justice.
José Rubén Zamora of El Periodico was ordered to stand trial on money laundering charges in December related to a 2013 donation to his newspaper that he asked a friend to deposit to hide the donor’s identity.
Zamora and his paper had aggressively pursued stories of wrongdoing and corruption in the current administration of President Alejando Giammattei. El Periodico stopped publishing a print addition Nov. 30 due to its financial difficulties.
Anti-corruption prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche said in video statement that Zamora’s lawyers had conspired to obstruct the investigation. Mario Castañeda was arrested and authorities were seeking the arrest of Romeo Montoya.
Free press organizations have decried the pursuit of Zamora as an attempt to silence a critical voice in the media. Currucchiche was sanctioned by the U.S. government last year for allegedly obstructing corruption investigations.
The United States and international human rights groups have been critical of the deterioration of judicial independence in Guatemala. More than 30 judges, prosecutors and other members of the legal system have fled into exile to avoid prosecutions.
Die Justizmafia in #Guatemala hat wieder zugeschlagen: diesmal hat sie Mario Castañeda verhaftet, den Anwalt des Gründers und Direktors der Zeitung #ElPeriodico, José Ruben Zamora. https://t.co/s8mYZPJ8La
A Guatemalan court on Friday handed down a four-year jail term to a senior anti-corruption prosecutor in what critics assailed as a blatant effort to undermine a fight against corruption.
The sentence against Virginia Laparra, who has been imprisoned for 10 months already, was announced by Judge Oly Gonzalez after an unusually speedy 18-day trial that was largely confined to testimony from police, government functionaries and a judge once investigated for corruption.
Gonzalez said Laparra was convicted for “abuse of authority” and given a commutable term of four years, which, under Guatemalan law, means she could pay a fine and see her term reduced.
Laparra wept as she heard the sentence.
“This is a legal aberration and a terrible precedent,” she said.
Amnesty International lambasted the conviction as a travesty.
“This conviction is yet another example of the criminalization of justice workers in Guatemala,” said Erika Guevara Rosas, Americas director for Amnesty International. “Virginia Laparra is a prisoner of conscience who is paying a high price for conducting her work as an anti-corruption prosecutor.
‘Vengeance’ campaign
At the end of her hearing, Laparra was ushered away in handcuffs, escorted by two guards. Some 50 supporters shouted, “Virginia is innocent!” and “Down with the corrupt!”
In brief remarks to journalists, Laparra said “no prosecutor evermore will dare present a case.”
US State Department assistant secretary for the western hemisphere Brian Nichols this week tweeted that the US government is “deeply concerned” about Laparra’s prosecution. In a separate tweet, the department said Guatemala’s campaign against Laparra “for doing her job undermines the fight against corruption and impunity.”
A day earlier, Laparra asserted as the trial wrapped up that the charges against her were part of a “vengeance” campaign by right-wing forces intent on protecting corruption rackets and military officers blamed for crimes during the 1960-1996 civil war.
Laparra was the chief of the Quetzaltenango region of the Special Prosecutor’s Office against Impunity when she was arrested as part of apparent payback for her anti-corruption efforts.
Condena a fiscal de FECI Virginia Laparra. Bien hecho @FCTGuatemala . Un precedente para los fiscales que pretendan romper la ley. No perdonamos, no olvidamos y no nos reconciliamos. pic.twitter.com/9LM0cfkJ5v
EN MENOS DE 24 HORAS SE LOGRO HACER UNA BUENA RECAUDACION A NIVEL NACIONAL E INTERNACIONAL PARA EL PAGO DE FIANZA DE VIRGINIA LAPARRA pic.twitter.com/NSVckUXkbn
After two years of working at a distance, on 20 May 2022 the International Observatory for Lawyers at Risk finally convened in Rome for its annual General Assembly. Members of the Observatory were able to participate in person or online in the meeting as well as in an open conference organised the day before to make the work of the IADO more visible.
Conference on the role of lawyers in building the rule of law
On Thursday 19 May, the conference on the role of lawyers in the construction of the rule of law was held. Maria Masi, President of the Consiglio Nationale Forense, welcomed the participants and praised the work of the Observatory. Francesco Caia, President of the International Observatory for Lawyers in Danger, introduced the conference by stating that “The best way to exert effective pressure on governments and authorities is to multiply debates and meetings, involving citizens; to publicise the facts and circumstances that lead to the erosion of the rule of law in many countries of the world, telling the stories, the intimidation, the unjust arrests, the arbitrary convictions and, unfortunately, in the most serious cases, the violence and murders of lawyers. “
David Ermini, vice-president of the Italian Superior Council of the Magistracy, underlined the existence of serious violations of the independence of justice and the freedom of lawyers. These occur not only in dictatorships but also in states like Hungary and Poland where the government does not respect the separation of powers. This is why rights and freedoms can never be taken for granted, even where democracy is strongest, and these values must always be defended.
Once again, Mr. Diego García Sayán, Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, has honoured us by sharing a few words with us via video, pointing out that “there is currently in all regions of the world a persistent attitude aimed at hindering the exercise of the legal profession in various ways, which is a way of affecting the functioning of the judicial system and the rule of law”. The rapporteur will present his report on “Protection of lawyers against undue interference in the free and independent exercise of their profession” at the fifth session of the Human Rights Council from 13 June to 8 July.
Two lawyers shared their testimony on the essential work of the institutions in protecting threatened lawyers.
— Observatoire international des avocats en danger (@ProtectLawyers) June 14, 2022
🇬🇹#Guatemala: Como parte del acompañamiento a la abogada Claudia González, el OIAD solicita que se respeten todas las garantías procesales en la audiencia que se celebra hoy, donde actúa como representante de la exfiscal Virginia Laparra, en prisión preventiva desde hace meses.
— Observatoire international des avocats en danger (@ProtectLawyers) June 6, 2022
IAPL Monitoring Committee on Attacks on Lawyers 