The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (BHRC) have today issued a statement expressing their deep concern and shock at the 4 July rocket attack on Camp Liberty in Baghdad, which is home to large numbers of Iranian exiles. This attack led to some 50 injuries and material damage, according to residents. Five injured...
The Bar Council and Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales have today sent a joint letter to the Kenyan High Commissioner to the UK, urging him to take action to protect legal practitioners following the murder of Kenyan lawyer Willie Kimani. Kimani was kidnapped, tortured and killed in June, alongside his colleague Josphat...
The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (BHRC) has issued a formal statement expressing grave concern over the arrest of judges and prosecutors, torture allegations and reported considerations of the death penalty in Turkey, following the recent failed coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In their statement, BHRC condemns the arrests as an attempt to...
The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (BHRC) has today issued a statement calling on the Indian government to repeal or amend a law targeting foreign NGOs, and reverse their decision to suspend the registration of a leading Indian human rights group. The Lawyers Collective, founded by prominent human rights lawyers Indira Jaising and Anand...
The UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) on Syria has this week concluded that ISIS is committing genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes against the Yazidi people. The report, “They Came to Destroy”: ISIS Crimes Against the Yazidis, recognises that the genocide is ongoing, and is being committed not just through mass killings but also through gendered...
The US Supreme Court announced today that they will hear the appeal of Bobby Moore, currently awaiting execution on death row in Texas. Their decision follows the submission of an amicus brief in support of Mr Moore’s case, signed by international bar associations including the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales. Bobby’s case...
The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (BHRC) has today issued a statement expressing serious concern over ongoing threats and attacks directed at Palestinian human rights defenders. BHRC highlights a pattern of death threats, harassment and violence aimed at curtailing the work of Palestinian human rights defenders and activists. This includes death threats issued...
Applications are now open for membership of the BHRC Drafting Committee. For full details and instructions on how to apply, please download the role description and person specification. Applications must be received by 10 June 2016. Members of the BHRC Drafting Committee are responsible for producing first drafts of statements and letters of concern, and providing...
The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales have issued a statement today expressing serious concerns over the arrest and arbitrary detention of several Egyptian lawyers, human rights defenders and journalists, as Egyptian security forces continue to silence criticism of the state. BHRC have specifically criticised the sentencing of 152 people on 14 May...
The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (BHRC) has today called for the government of Bangladesh to halt the ongoing prosecution of Motiur Rahman Nizami, the leader of the opposition Jamaat-e-Islami party facing imminent execution. The Supreme Court of Bangladesh yesterday rejected Nizami’s final petition for a review of his case, and the...
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.