Belarus: Passport Aleh Volchek disappeared

We would like to draw your attention to the situation of Aleh Volchek, who was one of the guest speakers on our Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers Event in November 2012.

We have been informed that on January 27, 2012, Mr Volchek was arrested in the street in the city center of Minsk after visiting the local post office. Subsequently Mr Volchek was charged with hooliganism after his trial took place on Monday, 30 January. L4L, together with other organizations, pressed for his release by means of a letter writing campaign. Aleh Volchek was soon after released. However, he did miss an important meeting with the United Nations to discuss the human rights situation in Belarus.

Recently we have received the news that during the detention of Mr Volchek, his passport disappeared from his apartment, allegedly confiscated by the police to establish his identity. Consequently, unless it is returned immediately or replaced he will not be able to take part in an international conference in London in the second half of February. 

L4L therefore organizes a letter writing campaign for Aleh Volchek. Click here for the example letters.

Pakistan: Violence against lawyers

We have received the shocking news of the murder of three Pakistani lawyers in Karachi, in Southern Pakistan.

Four lawyers were chased by unknown men on motorcycles when they left the courtroom. The unknown men fired shots that killed three lawyers, and left one wounded. He was taken to the hospital.

Eyewitnesses declared that the police was on the crime scene, but responded far too late to the events, only by firing shots in the air. Furthermore, the crime scene was closed off too late.

The Bar Association of Pakistan called for a nationwide strike in connection with these events.

In the last couple of months at least 11 lawyers have been killed in the Karachi region. Moreover, recently lawyer Mohan Lal Menghwar was kidnapped. You can still participate in our letter writing campaign for him which can be found on our website. 

China: Human Rights Tulip was presented to Ni Yulan

The Human Rights Tulip 2011, awarded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Chinese lawyer Ni Yulan, was presented on the 31 January. Ni Yulan is currently still in prison, so her daughter was supposed to come to accept the prize on behalf of her mother. Unfortunately she was stopped at the Chinese border and not allowed to travel to the Netherlands.

True Heroes Movies created a beautiful movie in honour of Ni Yulan. Please see the L4L Youtube channel.

Turkey: L4L attends sitting of the Court in case Turkish lawyer

On Thursday 2 February 2012, L4L attended a hearing in the trial of the Turkish lawyer Filiz Kalayci.

Filiz Kalayci is a Kurdish human rights lawyer from Ankara. She represented many Kurds and was arrested on 12 May 2012 together with three colleagues by the Anti-Terror department of the police. She has been charged with the 'working for or belonging to a terrorist organization'.

Her trial is still continuing. To keep the international pressure on Turkey high, L4L monitored one of the court hearings in February.

China: Chen Guangcheng is still kept under house arrest

Chen Guangcheng helped villagers in 2005 to start legal proceedings against the local authorities of Linyi City who, as part of the one-child policy, had forced thousands of women to have abortions and sterilizations, in violation of national Chinese law. After this case, Guangcheng was arrested and sentenced to four years in jail. After serving this term, Guangcheng was released early in September 2010. Since his release Guangcheng and his family have been kept under house arrest.

In February 2011 Guangcheng had a video released to share his and his family’s living conditions with the world. This video can be watched on the L4L YouTube channel. In response to this video, he and his wife were severely beaten.

Guangcheng and his family have not been allowed to leave home since his release, not even to buy food. Mr Chen Guangcheng is kept a prisoner in his own home and suffers from intimidation and interference. L4L is now organizing a letter writing campaign to keep attention focused on Guangcheng. Support Guangcheng and write letters!