The Bar Human Rights Committee of England & Wales (BHRC) has spoken out today on behalf of lawyers facing persecution in Egypt, supported by an international coalition of Bar Associations, Law Societies and other human rights organisations. In an open letter to President Sisi, BHRC condemns Egypt’s ongoing arrests and detention of lawyers, excessive and...
The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales has expressed its concern over the decision of the Egyptian courts to freeze the assets of human rights defenders. On Saturday 17th September, the Zeinhom Criminal Court took the decision to freeze the personal and organisational bank accounts of leading human rights defenders, including Hossam Bahgat (see...
The Bar Human Rights Committee has this week sent an international trial observer to the first hearing in the trial of five Turkish journalists in the Istanbul High Criminal Court. The trial involves three former editors (Ahmet Altan, Yasemin Çongar and Yıldıray Oğur) and two former journalists (Mehmet Baransu and Tuncay Opçin) from the daily...
The Bar Human Rights Committee has today published a new Trial Observation Report, focusing on the prosecution of 46 people in Turkey accused of membership of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) or Koma Civaken Kurdistan (KCK). 43 of the 46 defendants are lawyers, whose prosecutions are suspected to be politically motivated: many appear to have...
The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales has today issued a statement welcoming the release of Egyptian lawyer Malek Adly. Mr. Adly was released from jail on 28 August, having been detained since May 2016 for criticising the Egyptian government’s decision to grant Saudi Arabia control of two islands in the Red Sea....
The Bar Human Rights Committee welcomes the peace agreement signed today between the Government of Colombia and the Farc (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia). Kirsty Brimelow QC, who has been involved in mediation work between the Colombian government and the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó, said: “For too long Colombia has been the...
The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (“BHRC”) has today expressed its grave concern at the ongoing detention of Ibrahim Halawa, an Irish citizen detained without trial in Egypt for the last 3 years, and has called for his immediate transfer home to Ireland. Mr. Halawa was arrested as a 17-year-old child on...
The Bar Council and Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales have issued a joint statement today, voicing concern over the abduction of Mir Ahmed Bin Quasem, a lawyer in Bangladesh. Reports indicate that Mr. Quasem was taken from his home on 9th August by Bangladeshi security forces. No information has been given on where...
The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (BHRC) has today issued a formal statement expressing grave concern over the recent allegations of arrest, detention and prosecution of peaceful protesters in Zimbabwe, including those involved in the social media “#ThisFlag” movement, as well as allegations of torture and police brutality against those arrested and detained. The statement draws...
The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales has today published a report on migrant camps at Calais and Grande-Synthe in France, highlighting allegations of police violence, police failure to protect residents within the camps, and a lack of access to justice. BHRC representatives visited the Jungle and Grande-Synthe camps in March 2016, meeting...
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.