21 July 2017 (updated 24 July 2017) BHRC has sent a letter to the President of Poland and released a Statement of Concern to the British Ambassador in Poland, raising serious concern over proposed changes to the Polish judiciary. The changes would give the Polish government substantial influence over the appointment of judges, eroding the independence of...
BHRC has sent an open letter to the Minister of Justice in Turkey calling for the release Amnesty Turkey director Idel Eser and the “Istanbul 10”. On 5 July, 10 human rights defenders, including the director of Amnesty Turkey Idel Eser, were arrested and accused of ‘committing crimes as part of a terrorist organisation without...
The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales has issued a formal statement expressing serious concern over the Russian Supreme Court’s recent ban on Jehovah’s Witnesses. On 20 April 2017, Russia’s Supreme Court upheld an application by Russia’s Ministry of Justice to declare the Jehovah’s Witnesses Administrative Center an extremist organisation and to ban its...
After 1156 days on pre-trial detention, Aya Hegazy will have to wait a further 3 weeks to learn her fate, along with her co-defendants in the Belady Foundation trial in Cairo. The judge had previously indicated that he was ready to deliver his verdict on 23 March 2017. Instead, and without giving any reasons, he...
The Bar Human Rights Committee has sent an open letter to the King of Bahrain, calling for an immediate halt to the planned execution of two prisoners whose convictions are widely believed to have been secured through torture. Husain Ali Moosa and Mohamed Ramadan both face imminent execution, despite evidence that their trial was deeply...
The Bar Human Rights Committee has published a statement of concern calling on the Turkish authorities to protect the fair trial rights of five journalists from the newspaper Taraf. Former Taraf editor Ahmet Altan, deputy editor Yasemin Çongar and journalists Mehmet Baransu. Yıldıray Oğur and Tuncay Opçin currently face unparticularised charges relating to terrorism and security....
The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (BHRC) expresses its grave concern over the recent arrest and prosecution of Pastor Evan Mawarire. Pastor Mawarire fled Zimbabwe to the United States approximately six months ago, following harassment and threats against his life. At the time, he was the leader of the #ThisFlag campaign, a...
The Bar Human Rights Committee has today written to the Turkish Constitutional Court, calling on them to urgently address the thousands of cases pending since Turkey’s abortive coup in July 2016. Since the attempted coup, no cases have yet been heard or resolved. 80,000 cases are currently waiting to be considered by the court, with...
The Bar Human Rights Committee and the Bar Council have today urged Prime Minister Theresa May to address ongoing human rights violations in Turkey when she meets with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Saturday. In an open letter to the Prime Minister, BHRC and the Bar Council highlight the systematic persecution of lawyers and judges...
In a formal statement of concern published today, the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales has called on the Egyptian government to lift travel bans and asset-freezing orders imposed on human rights activists Azza Soliman, Malek Adly and others. BHRC’s statement follows news that Ms. Soliman (a prominent women’s rights lawyer and co-founder...
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.