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...
Nasrin Sotoudeh is renowned worldwide for her work as a lawyer in Iran. She has represented women’s rights defenders, religious minorities, and minors sentenced with the death penalty. Iranian authorities have tried to prevent her from carrying out her professional duties as a lawyer. Nasrin has had her licence to practise revoked and has been...
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...
Crackdowns on civil society space through funding and registration restrictions, as well as proliferating forms of harassment, including through litigation, have become increasingly common throughout South Asia as a means to silence criticism. At a time when freedom of expression and association are under threat, when transparency and accountability and under pressure, the need for...
Today, 9 November 2020, marks 1500 days in detention of one of Turkey’s most well-known writers and novellists. In November 2019, Ahmet Altan was re-arrested one week after his release pending appeal on 4 November 2019. At that stage he had in effect served over three years in pre-trial detention. In its previous observations of...
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 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.