On 2 November 2021 Osman Kavala, a civil society leader and human rights defender, issued a statement on the fourth anniversary of his detention, asserting that the only solace he could take from his experience was that it brought to light the injustices currently being perpetrated against civil society activists, human rights defenders, and others...

Alaa Abd El Fattah, a blogger and human rights defender, is currently accused of ‘belonging to a terrorist group’, ‘funding a terrorist group’, ‘spreading false news undermining national security’ and ‘using social media to commit publishing offences’. Alaa Abd El Fattah has, over much of the past decade, been repeatedly arrested and detained following participation...

BHRC has joined a group of 72 international non-governmental organizations and individuals calling on the Hong Kong government to drop the charge of “inciting unauthorized assembly” against Chow Hang-tung (鄒幸彤) and unconditionally release her. The text of the letter can be found below and can also be accessed here. Re. Prosecution of Tiananmen Vigil Organizer...

The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (“BHRC”) has today written to the UK Foreign Secretary addressing the urgent and escalating situation in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory. We have copied the letter in full below: The Rt Hon Dominic Raab MP, First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Foreign,...

The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) and the Bar Human Rights Committee of England & Wales (BHRC) condemn the prosecution, conviction and disproportionate sentencing of veteran Hong Kong pro-democracy figures, including Martin Lee QC, ‘father of Hong Kong democracy’, politician and legislator; Dr Margaret Ng, barrister; and media tycoon Jimmy Lai. They are...

The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (“BHRC”) and the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (“IBAHRI”) have today written to US President Joe Biden urging him to rescind Executive Order 13928 and withdraw all economic sanctions and visa restrictions placed on the ICC officials. In the letter, BHRC and IBAHRI welcome the...

  The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (“BHRC”) and the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (“IBAHRI”) are gravely concerned about the deteriorating human rights situation in Sri Lanka and join calls made during the 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council (“UNHRC”) for Sri Lanka to pursue accountability for past...

The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (“BHRC”) joins 47 international organisations in a letter to several UN Special Rapporteurs requesting urgent action ahead of the next hearing in the criminal trial of those accused of killing lawyer Tahir Elçi in 2015. Tahir Elçi was a prominent figure within the international and domestic...

Genocides and other mass atrocity crimes have claimed the lives of over 80 million victims globally since 1945. Today the very existence of the Rohingya in Myanmar and the Uyghur in China is threatened by ongoing violations including torture, rape and sexual violence, forced starvation, and the deprivation of liberty and dignity. We see the proposed...

The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (“BHRC”) has joined over 100 leading human rights organisations from around the world calling for collective action to address the human rights situation in Egypt at the 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council. The groups called on governments to lead and support the creation...