The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (BHRC) has sent a letter to the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, calling on him to revoke recent changes to the Penal Code, which took effect on 3 April 2019, imposing stoning to death as a punishment for practising homosexuality or acts of adultery. In its...
The Bar Council and the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales have sent a public letter to the UK Secretary of State Jeremy Hunt urging him to take action in support of Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh. Sotoudeh was sentenced to 38 years imprisonment and 148 lashes for undertaking her professional obligations to her clients...
BHRC has joined a statement with 31 other organisations calling for the acquittal of Wang Quanzhang, a prominent Chinese human rights lawyer arrested during the 709 Crackdown. On 28 January 2019, Mr Wang was found guilty of “subversion of state power” and sentenced to 4 years and 6 months in prison and 5-year deprivation of political...
BHRC has issued a public statement expressing serious concern at the recent arrests by Turkish authorities of academics and activists. The arrests appear consistent with a sustained attack on dissent as a means of silencing critical voices within Turkey. On 16 November 2018 fourteen high-profile activists and academics were arrested in Turkey. Turkish authorities issued...
Written by: Işıl Aral, Daniel Bramhall, Andrew Stevens, Joseph Lynch-Watson Introduction Osman Kavala has been a prominent figure in Turkish civil society since the 1980s, founding a plethora of cultural and arts-based initiatives. Along with this, he is well known for his role at the head of the Kavala Group companies following his attendance...
The Bar Human Rights Committee, Law Society and IBA Human Rights Institue co-organised a UN side event at the Palais des Nations in Geneva to discuss the challenges that the Turkish legal profession has been facing since the failed coup in July 2016. The event took place on 21 June 2018 at 15:00-16:00 in Room XXV...
The Bar Council of England and Wales and the Bar Human Rights Committee (BHRC) have written jointly to Prime Minister Theresa May, urging her to voice concerns over Turkey’s ongoing and large-scale prosecution of judges, lawyers, journalists and human rights defenders with the Turkish President when the two meet on Tuesday. The letter, which has...
The Bar Council of England and Wales, the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (BHRC), the International Association of Lawyers (UIA), the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), and the Law Society of England and Wales have sent an open letter to Turkish authorities raising concerns over the rising number of cases...
BHRC has sent a letter to the UK Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, raising concern over the detention, prosecution and treatment of Nabeel Rajab, a human rights defender in Bahrain. Mr Rajab is the president and co-founder of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights. On 21 February 2018 he was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment, to...
BHRC has released its hearing observation report on the opening of the trial of 17-year-old Ahed Tamimi, her mother Nariman Tamimi and Ahed’s cousin, Nour Tamimi.by co-Vice Chair Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh. Ahed, Nariman and Nour Tamimi are all facing charges relating to an incident on 15 December 2017, the recording of which went viral after being uploaded...
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.