News – Page 6

PHILIPPINES: Joint statement on the harassment and threats targeting human rights lawyer Maria Kristina Conti

The undersigned organisations express grave concern over the escalating campaign of red-tagging, harassment, and threats targeting human rights lawyer Maria Kristina Conti in the Philippines. Atty. Maria Kristina Conti is a prominent human rights lawyer, Secretary-General of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers-National Capital Region (NUPL-NCR), and Treasurer of the Confederation of Lawyers of Asia […]

SUDAN: Joint statement on the Arrest and Enforced Disappearance of Lawyer Khaled Omar Al-Sadiq

The OIAD together with 9 other organisations express deep concern over the enforced disappearance and incommunicado detention of Sudanese lawyer Khaled Omar Al-Sadiq since 22 December 2024. His case inserts itself within an alarming pattern of persecution against legal professionals in Sudan, who continue to face arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, and judicial harassment for carrying […]

Bangladesh: Judicial harassment and discriminatory measures against lawyers

The OIAD is deeply concerned about the alarming wave of persecution, intimidation and political discrimination targeting many lawyers in Bangladesh. These practices, which seem to be part of a coordinated strategy, seriously undermine the independence of the legal profession and access to justice in the country. Unfounded criminal charges against Bangladeshi lawyers A series of extremely […]

TURKEY: Joint statement condemning unacceptable attacks on the Legal Profession

The International Observatory for Lawyers in Danger (OIAD) together with the International legal and human rights community condemns moves to undermine the independence of lawyers and the rule of law in Turkey. The escalating attacks by Turkish authorities on the Istanbul Bar Association, its leadership, and members of the legal profession are an affront to […]

BRAZIL: The OIAD takes part in the 3rd International Forum of the AJUFIDH in São Paulo

From 7 to 11 April 2025, the International Observatory for Lawyers in Danger will be taking part in the 3rd International Forum of the Association of Lawyers, Judges and Human Rights Prosecutors of Latin America and the Caribbean (AJUFIDH), in São Paulo, Brazil. The event will gather more than 70 legal professionals from across South […]

TRAINING: A look back at the first OIAD training workshop on safety and psychosocial risks

The International Observatory for Lawyers in Danger (OIAD) held a training workshop on security and psychosocial risks for Spanish-speaking human rights lawyers on 13 March 2025. The session was held in the Assembly Hall of the Spanish National Bar Council (Consejo General de la Abogacía Española – CGAE) in Madrid and was broadcast live on […]

United States: Attacks on the legal profession and threats to the independence of law firms

The independence of the legal profession in the United States is once again threatened by a series of groundbreaking actions by the Trump administration. Since the beginning of March, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC – a government agency) has been investigating several large law firms about their diversity and inclusion policies. At the same […]

TURKEY: The OIAD condemns the decision to dissolve the Istanbul Bar Council and expresses its unwavering support to the lawyers of Istanbul

The OIAD attended the hearing of 21 March 2025, regarding the Public Prosecutor’s Office’s request to terminate the mandates of the Istanbul Bar President and the members of the Bar Council. Lawyers Barbara Porta (Turin Bar Association), Valeria Cominotti (Brescia Bar Association), and Ketty-Anne Tamburini (Lyon Bar Association), travelled to Istanbul as representatives of the […]

United States of America/ Recent targeting of legal professionals by the US Government

“On 6 February 2025, the US President signed an executive order imposing sanctions on International Criminal Court (ICC) personnel and their immediate family members. (…) The executive order states that “tangible and significant consequences” will be imposed on ICC officials, which could include the blocking of property and assets, as well as the suspension of […]

Algeria: The OIAD stands by François Zimeray against unacceptable interference in his client’s free choice of lawyer, based on religious discrimination

The International Observatory of Lawyers in Danger is outraged by allegations that representatives of the Algerian state have been pressuring detained Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal to appoint a ‘non-Jewish’ lawyer to replace his lawyer François Zimeray. Such anti-Semitic acts blatantly violate the fundamental right of all citizens to choose their lawyer freely and unacceptably interfere […]