The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (“BHRC”) condemns the arrests that took place in sweeping raids conducted by over 1000 police officers this week in Hong Kong. More than 50 pro-democracy figures were arrested, under the new National Security Law (“NSL”), which was imposed by Beijing in 2020, including lawyers, pro-democracy politicians and...
The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (BHRC) is extremely concerned at the threat to revoke the practising licences of two Chinese human rights lawyers, Ren Quanniu and Lu Siwei, in circumstances which strongly suggest that the lawyers are being targeted for their recent high-profile work. Mr Ren and Mr Lu had been...
The Bar Council and the Bar Human Rights Committee have written a further letter of concern to the Polish President and Prime Minister, and Marshals of the Senate and Sejm following the decision of the Disciplinary Chamber to grant the prosecutor’s motion to waive Judge Tuleya’s immunity on 18 November 2020. As part of the decision the Disciplinary Chamber...
We, the undersigned 26 Bar Associations, Law Societies, and organisations supporting the legal profession of over 14 countries, stand in solidarity with our Iranian colleague Nasrin Sotoudeh and other lawyers in Iran who are being persecuted by their Government for carrying out their profession diligently and in accordance with the law. On 13 June...
The Bar Human Rights Commitee of England and Wales (BHRC) has today joined over 40 bar associations and human rights organisations in a joint statement raising concerns of the lack of effective investigation into the death of human rights lawyer Tahir Elçi in Turkey in 2015. Tahir Elçi was a prominent figure within the international...
The Chair of the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales, Schona Jolly QC has today written to the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Secretary, the Rt Hon Dominic Raab MP, to express serious concern at reports that the UK is considering cuts to official development assistance (ODA) by more than £4 billion. Such...
Chinese human rights lawyer Chang Weiping, whose certificate to practice law was suspended in January 2020, was detained by Baoji City Public Security in absence of a notice of detention on 22 October 2020. Chang Weiping’s wife later received calls from the national security officer in charge, indicating that Chang Weiping was detained for actions...
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...
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 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.