Crackdowns on civil society space through funding and registration restrictions, as well as proliferating forms of harassment, including through litigation, have become increasingly common throughout South Asia as a means to silence criticism. At a time when freedom of expression and association are under threat, when transparency and accountability and under pressure, the need for...
Today, 9 November 2020, marks 1500 days in detention of one of Turkey’s most well-known writers and novellists. In November 2019, Ahmet Altan was re-arrested one week after his release pending appeal on 4 November 2019. At that stage he had in effect served over three years in pre-trial detention. In its previous observations of...
The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (BHRC) is concerned at reports of the continued detention of prominent human rights lawyer, Hejaaz Hizbullah, under Sri Lanka’s Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). We note that Mr Hizbullah is a member of the Muslim minority in Sri Lanka. He has been involved in a number...
The Bar Human Rights Committee has written to the President of Afghanistan and the Chancellor of Kabul University today to express its deep condolences to the victims and families of those injured or killed in the attack at Kabul University yesterday where reportedly all students attending a law class were killed. The attack is a...
BHRC is seeking an energetic and experienced Admin Assistant to support the Project Officer in delivering and facilitating the varied and expanding work of the organisation and its membership. We are looking for someone who is proactive and efficient with an eye for detail, who has experience working with smaller organisations. The primary responsibilities would...
Belarus on the Edge: Europe on the Brink? Thursday, 24th September 2020 at 6pm, via Zoom Chair: Baroness Helena Kennedy QC Speakers include (TBC): Elena Korosteleva, Miriam Lexmann, Boriss Cilevics, Laurynas Jonavičius, Pavel Kuryan, Julia Korosteleva, Nadzeya Husakouskaya, Bill Bowring and a Representative from Viasna. Belarus in Crisis: The world looks on with a combination...
The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (“BHRC”) has written to Ayatollah Khameini, the Supreme Leader of Iran, to raise concerns in respect of the case of the human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, whose health seriously deteriorated following a prolonged hunger strike. In 2019 she was sentenced to a total of 38 years’...
The Bar Council and the Bar Human Rights Committee have written to the Polish President and Prime Minister, and Marshals of the Senate and Sejm ahead of a scheduled hearing of a motion filed by the National Prosecution Office to the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court to waive the immunity of Judge Igor Tuleya on 5...
This year, BHRC – in a project led by the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) and in cooperation with its partners Human Rights House Foundation, Lawyers for Lawyers and Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada – launched a Toolkit for Lawyers at Risk. The Toolkit on Lawyers at Risk is a unique tool aimed at...
The Bar Human Rights Committee of England & Wales has submitted a third party intervention in the case of Gençay Bastimar v Turkey CCPR Case No. 3592/2019. The intervention was submitted by BHRC Vice-Chair Stephen Cragg QC from Doughty Street Chambers, and BHRC member Monica Feria-Tinta. Stuart Kerr, from Karis Solicitors, assisted with the draft. This is one...
The Bar Human Rights Committee is the independent,
international human rights arm of the Bar of England
and Wales, dedicated to promoting justice and respect
for human rights through the rule of law.