International Observatory of Lawyers at Risk
Date of the report: July 2023 On Wednesday 5 July 2023, the 7th hearing in the trial for the assassination of Bar President Tahir Elçi in Diyarbakir, Turkey, was observed by Franck Heurtrey (member of the Lyon Bar) and Jean-Baptiste Farcy (member of the Brussels Bar). On this occasion, the members visited the lawyer Turan Canpolat, who has been incarcerated in Elazig prison since 2016. Download the full report:
Bar President Adrien VERRIER was in Tunis from July 26 to 28, 2023 to meet with three lawyers currently incarcerated: Ridha BELHAJ and Ghazi CHAOUACHI (incarcerated since February 25, 2023), and Nourredine BHIRI (incarcerated since February 14, 2023). This mission was also an opportunity to organize a conference on the theme of “lawyer immunity” alongside Bar President Abdessattar BEN MOUSSA, President of the Tunisian League for Human Rights (LTDH) which, along with three other organizations (ONAT, UGTT, UTICA) making up the “National Dialogue Quartet”, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2015. Read the full release
Date of the report: May 2023 On 16 June 2023, at the General Assembly, the members of the Bureau presented the International Observatory for Lawyers in Danger activity report for 2022/2023. Download the report:
Report date: June 2023 On 1 June 2023, an OIAD delegation, formed by observers Barbara Porta (member of the Torino Bar) and Adriana Vignoni (member of Brescia Bar) attended the hearing of the case against lawyer Efkan Bolac, prosecuted for insulting the President of the Republic and acquitted in this hearing. Download the report:
Report date : May 2023 “Confronting impunity: Protect Lawyers and Judicial Independence” is the title of the VII International Caravan of Jurists Report in Colombia, in which 6 delegates from the International Observatory for Lawyers in Danger participated (Edmond-Claude Frety, Roland Rodriguez, Beatriz Gil, Gonzalo Sáenz, Carles McGragh et Agueda Teja) . This report documents the findings of the visit in August 2022 by the VII International Caravana of Jurists to Colombia. Download the full report: Read the summary of the report:
Report date: April 2023 On 24 April 2023, an international delegation composed of representatives of the OIAD, DSF AS, Lawyers for Lawyers and the Netherlands Bar attended the hearing of the case against the former President of the Izmir Bar , Özkan Yücel and ten Bar Councillors (2018-2021 period). The OIAD delegation was formed by two observers: Adrien Verrier, President of the Nice Bar and Antonio Fraticelli, member of the Bologna Bar. Download the report:
Date of the report : November 2022 On 15 June 2022, a delegation from the OIAD, the Geneva Bar Association and secretaries of the Paris Bar Conference attended the 5th hearing of the defendants in the Barrister Tahir Elçi assassination case. On 28 November 2015, Tahir Elçi was shot dead while holding a press conference he had organised at the “four-legged minaret” in Diyarbakır to denounce the serious human rights violations committed during the curfews in Cizre, Sur, Silopi and Nusaybin, and to make a public appeal for the protection of cultural property and heritage during the conflict. The observer delegation presents this comprehensive report which includes the background, the course of the 15 June 2022 hearing, as well as a critical analysis of the trial and the hearing. Download the report:
A retrospective of the destruction of a profession: 15 August 2021 – 15 August 2022
The first meeting of the Committee was held in Strasbourg from April 6 to 8.
Date of the report: May 2022 On 20 May 2022, at the General Assembly, the members of the Bureau presented the International Observatory for Lawyers in Danger activity report for 2021/22. Download the report:
Date of the report: September 2021 This report is produced by the delegation of the International Observatory for Lawyers in Danger (OIAD for its french acronym) during the joint judicial observation mission carried out in Istanbul from 15 to 20 September 2021. It is a complement to the report of the previous joint judicial observation mission carried out in Istanbul from 4 to 8 April 2021 by the OIAD, the General Council of Spanish Lawyers, the Geneva Bar and the Paris Bar . More specifically, this report deals with the two hearings of 15 and 20 September 2021 respectively in the CHD I and II trial before the 18th Criminal Chamber of Istanbul concerning Barkin Timtik and Selçuk Kozağaçlı and in the case concerning Oya Aslan and Günay Dağ before the 37th Criminal Chamber of Istanbul. It also covers the visits to lawyers in prison that were carried out by the OIAD delegation on 16 and 17 September 2021 along with twenty-four other delegations. Download the report:
Turkey : Report on the Observation Mission of the OIAD (OHD & CHD I Trials)
OIAD presents the Country File: Colombia on the endangered legal profession in this country and, in particular, on the use of justice as a persecution mechanism against Colombian lawyers.
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