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2024 OIAD General Assembly: testimonies and tributes to threatened colleagues
The Maison des Avocats de Paris hosted the 7th Ordinary General Meeting of the International Observatory for Lawyers in Danger on 20 June 2024. Gathered in the Council room of the Paris Bar Association, the Co-Presidents Vincent Nioré and Vanessa Bousardo handed over the presidency of the OIAD to the Consejo General de la Abogacía Española, represented by Alfredo Irujo. The event featured powerful interviews with lawyers from Russia, Mexico, Iran and the Democratic Republic of Congo, who highlighted the challenges and realities of the lawyer’s profession in their respective countries. “Women are raped, massacred (…) children are enrolled in the armed forces (…). In this context, unfortunately, we are supposed to live (…) but in reality, we try to live because we have no other choice. And it’s complicated when we, the lawyers who are supposed to defend the rights of all these citizens (…) are also the target of the government authorities’ armed forces”, explains Vascos Saasita, a lawyer at the Bar in Tshipo (Democratic Republic of Congo) “I must tell you that it is an ordeal to be a human rights defender, to be a defence lawyer in Mexico. Threats, assaults, the risk of being murdered, of […]
Joint Statement of International Protest Condemning Turkey’s Arrest of Naim Eminoğlu and Doğa İncesu of the Progressive Lawyers Association (“ÇHD”)
Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Bern, Bologna, Brussels, Buenos Aires, Cape Town, Colmar, Cologne, Dhaka, Dusseldorf, Gaza, Grenoble, Harlem, London, Madrid, Manila, Mytilini, New Delhi, New York, Nicosia, Paris, Ramallah, Roma, Tokyo– 5 July 2024 The undersigned bar associations, law societies, and lawyers’ rights organizations – representing tens of thousands of lawyers from around the globe – condemn in the strongest possible terms the detention of Progressive Lawyers Association (“ÇHD”) lawyers Naim Eminoğlu and Doğa İncesu, and demand their immediate release and exoneration by the authorities of Turkey. On 2 July 2024, Turkish authorities raided the Istanbul homes of lawyers Naim Eminoğlu and Doğa İncesu, and took the two lawyers into custody. Eminoğlu is an Istanbul Branch executive board member of Çağdaş Hukukçular Derneği – the Progressive Lawyers Association (“ÇHD”), and İncesu is a ÇHD member.[1] In fulfilling their professional duties as lawyers, Eminoğlu and İncesu are present at police stations and courthouses almost every day. Indeed, they were scheduled to attend court hearings in clients’ cases on 2 July. Despite the fact that there was no risk that the two lawyers would attempt to flee, armed police officers executed early-morning raids on the lawyers’ residences and took them into custody. Their […]
OIAD statement denouncing threats against French lawyers who signed an op-ed against the Rassemblement National (National Rally – far-right party)
The International Observatory for Lawyers in Danger (OIAD) strongly condemns the very serious threats published on 3 July 2024 on the far-right website RESEAU LIBRE, calling for the elimination of a number of lawyers who signed an op-ed in the run-up to the French parliamentary elections in June-July 2024. The far-right group openly threatened the French lawyers who signed the letter, describing them as “lawyers to be eliminated”, and “to be sent to a ditch and a stadium”, adding that “[a] vast majority of lawyers need to be neutralised”. The OIAD vigorously condemns the dissemination of these hate messages against a profession that stands as a watchdog for freedoms and the rule of law. The OIAD is deeply concerned by these events and condemns the intimidation of lawyers in France. The OIAD recalls that “lawyers like other citizens are entitled to freedom of expression, belief, association and assembly. In particular, they shall have the right to take part in public discussion of matters concerning the law, the administration of justice and the promotion and protection of human rights and to join or form local, national or international organizations and attend their meetings, without suffering professional restrictions by reason of their […]
TURKEY: OIAD attends hearing of colleague Özum Burgun in Diyarbakir in may 2024
Gaspard Lindon, lawyer at the Bar in Paris and delegate of the International Observatory for Lawyers in Danger (OIAD), travelled to Diyarbakir on May 1st alongside Françoise Cotta, member of ASF-DS and associate of the OIAD. Özum Burgun, whose trial was held on 2 May 2024 at the Diyarbakir court, was one of 52 people taken into custody on 25 April 2023 as part of a wave of arrests launched by the Turkish authorities in twenty-one provinces, including Diyarbakir. Alongside her were lawyers Burhan Arta, Serhat Hezer and Şerzan Yelboğa, as well as human rights defenders, journalists, artists and community activists, who were arrested and taken into custody. This operation was launched 3 weeks before the Turkish presidential and parliamentary elections, emphasising the particularly tense and hostile political context towards the Kurdish population in Turkey. Ms Burgun had been accused of being involved in conspiratorial activities within the PKK. She was finally acquitted on 2 May by the Diyarbakir Court. The International Observatory for Lawyers in Danger thanks Gaspard Lindon and Françoise Cotta, who travelled to Diyarbakir as part of this crucial mission. The mission report is available on the OIAD website.
PHILIPPINES: Mobilisation for International Fair Trial Day in Manila: NUPL wins Ebru Timtik prize
Impunity for attacks on lawyers, prosecutors and judges, as well as smear campaigns against legal and human rights professionals in the Philippines, were highlighted in a panel discussion to mark International Fair Trial Day. Held on 14 June at the University of the Philippines in Manila, the event also highlighted the gaps in anti-terrorism legislation resulting from the so-called “red-tagging” system,, a series of defamation campaigns against legal professionals on social media and in public spaces. The second panel discussion of the day, chaired by Gonzalo Sáenz Quilez, representing the International Observatory for Lawyers in Danger (OIAD), focused on the impact of anti-terrorism and anti-drug laws on the protection of lawyers, journalists, civil society, activists and other human rights defenders. The event was supported and attended by more than 100 legal associations from around the world, who pledged to highlight the importance of the right to a fair trial and the challenges posed by the rights of the defence. The ceremony also provided an opportunity to award the “Ebru Timtik” human rights prize, which this year went to NUPL (National Union of People’s Lawyers), which includes Czarina Musni, who has been monitored by the OIAD. To find out more about […]
URGENT ACTIONS
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Procedure to evaluate cases.
When the observatory is informed of the situation of a lawyer at risk, it proceeds to verify the information it receives and to evaluate the context surrounding the case.
Case Verification
The Observatory’s team verifies the nature of the case that has been reported to check whether it falls under its sphere of competence/mandate and attempts to ascertain the veracity of the allegations received.
The Observatory has consolidated an extensive network of contacts with international and regional bodies, civil society organizations, diplomatic representations and bar associations. This network enables it to gather information pertinent to the lawyers’ general situation and that of specific cases.
The Observatory attempts to establish contact with the lawyer in order to understand his or her needs and circumstances in order to organize the appropriate kind of support that can effectively respond to the defense and protection strategy adopted.
Case assessment
Having completed the process of verification and information gathering, the case Evaluation Group performs an overall assessment of the situation, determines the degree of severity of the case, and issues recommendations on the type of action to be taken to procure counsel and effective support.
The verification and assessment process is performed within a limited amount of time in order to address the grave situations requiring urgent action.
Once the Evaluation Group has presented its recommendations, the Observatory proceeds to take action in accordance with these recommendations and in coordination with the lawyer in question and his or her surroundings.
No action is ever taken without the express consent of the lawyer in question.
WHAT IS THE OBSERVATORY FOR ?
Established in 2010 in the framework of the EU funded project “Lawyers serving lawyers”, the Observatory was re-established in 2015.
The Observatory’s basic aim is to uphold the right to practice law freely and totally independently, and to denounce situations where the right to legal counsel is at risk.
The observatory’s work covers warnings, support in the field and training.