Press release: “Faces of Freedom”: discover the exhibition from 12 March to 19 April 2024

Geneva, 16 April 2024 – The Geneva Bar Association, the Judiciary of the Canton of Geneva, the International Union of Lawyers’ Institute for the Rule of Law (UAI-IROL), the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) and the International Observatory for Lawyers in Danger (OIAD) are presenting an exhibition of photographic portraits entitled “Faces of Freedom” at the Geneva Courthouse from 12 March to 19 April 2024.

Designed by the Union Internationale des Avocats (UIA), the Conseil National des Barreaux (France) and the Nantes Bar Association, the “Faces of Freedom” exhibition was presented for the first time in 2020 to honour lawyers who had been prosecuted, tried, convicted or murdered in various parts of the world for the sole exercise of their profession.

The fifteen portraits of lawyers that make up the exhibition were displayed within the walls of the Geneva Courthouse in March 2024.

The aim of the exhibition is to raise public awareness of the role played by lawyers in defending individual rights, and human rights in particular, and of the serious risks to which they may be personally exposed when defending their clients in certain cases.

” The Human Rights Commission of the Geneva Bar Association (CDH) felt that the exhibition created by the Nantes Bar Association, the CNB and the UIA was particularly powerful and directly related to the work it carries out, particularly in the field of the defence of the defence “, says Florian Thiebaut, a member of the CDH. ” The exhibition brings the public face to face with these ” faces of freedom “, as they discover their background and history “.

The exhibition features portraits of the following 15 lawyers:

• Me Alice Nkom
  • Me Beatrice Mtweta
  • Me Benjamin Ramos
  • Me Derk Wiersum
  • Me Ebru Timtik
  • Me Lin Qilei
  • Me Maheinour El Massry
  • Me Mohammed Al-Roken
  • Me Nasrin Sotodeh
  • Me Natalia Matskevich
  • Me Rana Habibi
  • Me Saif Ul Malook
  • Me Selçuk Kozagacli
  • Me Waleed Abu Al Khair
  • Me Yessika Hoyos Morales

Practical information

“Faces of Freedom” can be seen from 12 March to 19 April 2024 in the Courtyard of the Geneva Courthouse (Place du Bourg-de-Four 1).

The Courthouse is open from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday.

Access to the buildings is subject to security checks (passing through a security portal, examination of bags and luggage, etc.).

About the Human Rights Commission of the Geneva Bar Association

The Human Rights Commission works to promote fundamental rights and the defence of human rights, both in Switzerland and abroad, in particular through judicial observation missions, written or oral representations, particularly to the authorities, and press releases. It also raises awareness through conferences, meetings and publications.

The Ordre des avocats is actively committed to the “defence of the defence”, i.e. the defence of the right to defend. Consequently, all lawyers must be able to practise their profession in complete freedom and independence, protected from any hindrance, intimidation, harassment or interference in their professional duties.

For any questions, please contact the Bar Association at the following address communication@odage.ch.