Speech by Leonardo Arnau, President of the OIAD Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of the Legal Profession 36th National Congress of Lawyers Turin, 15 October 2025 I am very pleased and honoured to be able, on behalf of the OIAD, to deliver a welcome message to today’s conference, which represents a welcome […]
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Belarusian authorities have designated the Belarusian Association of Human Rights Lawyers (BAHRL) as an “extremist formation,” imposing severe legal sanctions and intensifying pressure on the legal profession. On 18 August 2025, the State Security Committee (KGB) issued a decision[1] labelling the BAHRL as extremist, effective 21 August 2025. Shortly after, the Ministry of Internal […]
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Joint Statement/Georgia – Freezing of NGO Accounts and Impact on Legal Protection and the Work of Lawyers In response to the freezing of the bank accounts of several civil society organisations in Georgia and the misuse of the law on grants, several organisations defending the defence have joined Lawyers for Lawyers to highlight the serious […]
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Amid intensifying fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, human rights defenders, especially lawyers, have become prime targets for armed groups. According to information gathered and verified by the Observatory, there has been a disturbing pattern of threats, intimidation and serious violence. Free criminals, exposed lawyers Mass escapes in several cities, including Bukavu and Goma, […]
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Twelve legal and human rights organisations intervene in proceedings against the executive board ahead of trial* Criminal and civil proceedings against the executive board of the Istanbul Bar Association are incompatible with Türkiye’s international human rights obligations and represent a direct assault on the independence of the legal profession, warned 12 legal and human rights […]
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Lawyers for Lawyers, the International Observatory for Lawyers at Risk, the Law Society of England and Wales, the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe and the European Association of Lawyers for Democracy C Human Rights are deeply concerned about the latest reports involving Angolan human rights […]
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27 August marks another year since the death of Ebru Timtik, a lawyer who died after 238 days on hunger strike to demand a fair trial in Turkey. Ebru Timtik was part of a group of 18 lawyers who were members of the Progressive Lawyers Association (ÇHD), which was the subject of relentless legal proceedings. […]
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The OIAD and Lawyers for Lawyers, in collaboration with the signatory Bars and organisations committed to the defence of lawyers’ rights, express their deep concern regarding the arbitrary detention of Congolese lawyers Guillaume Muyembe, Patrick Katebe and Médard Palankoy by the authorities. The three lawyers, all members of the Kinshasa-Gombe Bar, were arbitrarily detained incommunicado […]
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Date of the event: 14 June, 2024 Report date: March, 2025 Description: On 14 June 2024, around 300 legal professionals, bar association representatives, academics, criminal justice experts, human rights advocates and journalists from around the world gathered online and in person in Manila, the Philippines to participate in the 2024 International Fair Trial Day and […]
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The OIAD is extremely concerned about the decision of the Islamic Republic of Iran to repatriate Afghan migrants to Afghanistan. Among these migrants are more than 23 lawyers and their families, who risk arbitrary arrest and detention, as well as torture or extrajudicial executions. Since the Taliban takeover in August 2021, Afghan lawyers have faced […]
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