Belarus on the Edge: Europe on the Brink? Thursday, 24th September 2020 at 6pm, via Zoom Chair: Baroness Helena Kennedy QC Speakers include (TBC): Elena Korosteleva, Miriam Lexmann, Boriss Cilevics, Laurynas Jonavičius, Pavel Kuryan, Julia Korosteleva, Nadzeya Husakouskaya, Bill Bowring and a Representative from Viasna. Belarus in Crisis: The world looks on with a combination...

This year, BHRC – in a project led by the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) and in cooperation with its partners Human Rights House Foundation, Lawyers for Lawyers and Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada – launched a  Toolkit for Lawyers at Risk. The Toolkit on Lawyers at Risk is a unique tool aimed at...

The Bar Human Rights Committee of England & Wales has submitted a third party intervention in the case of Gençay Bastimar v Turkey CCPR Case No. 3592/2019. The intervention was submitted by BHRC Vice-Chair Stephen Cragg QC from Doughty Street Chambers, and BHRC member Monica Feria-Tinta. Stuart Kerr, from Karis Solicitors, assisted with the draft. This is one...

Your Excellency, The undersigned organisations have learned of the arrest of approximately 55 lawyers and trainee-lawyers in Ankara. According to the information received, on 11 September 2020, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued detention warrants for approximately 55 lawyers and trainee-lawyers for being “members of a terrorist organization”. Their offices and places of residence were...

BHRC has published the Turkish version of its trial observation report of the “Gezi Park” trial of sixteen leading civil society individuals in Turkey, including Open Society Foundation Board member Osman Kavala. The report was first published in English in May 2020. BHRC had closely monitored the trial over several months since June 2019, which ostensibly...

An open letter to: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, UN Member States We, the undersigned organizations, join together to call for an international mechanism to address the Chinese government’s human rights violations, and urge you to take decisive action to achieve this goal. On 26 June 2020, an...

The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (BHRC) condemns the designation and imposition of economic sanctions by the United States on the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda and Head of the Court’s Jurisdiction, Complementarity and Cooperation Division, Phakiso Mochochoko. BHRC further condemns the announcement of measures to restrict the issuance of...