The judicial scandal has to come to an end – the imprisoned lawyers must be released
On November 11, the ÇHD I criminal case, which started in 2013, will continue at the 1st instance, before the 18th Heavy Penal Court in Istanbul. The victims of this long lasting trial are the accused 22 lawyers, all members of the Turkish Lawyers’ Organization ÇHD (Progressive Lawyers of Turkey) and all working in one…
ELDH statement on the new EU ‘Pact on Migration and Asylum’
The Pact on Migration and Asylum published on 23 September 2020, provides a framework to facilitate and justify the obstruction of access to asylum procedures, unlawful returns and refoulement. Although labelled a ‘fresh start’,[1] it retains many highly contentious aspects of the old border policy including a discriminatory fast track border procedure, military and technological…
LAWYERS’ ASSOCIATIONS PROTEST ARREST OF TURKISH LAWYER SEDA SARALDI
The following statement was issued by the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL), European Democratic Lawyers (AED-EDL), and the European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights (ELDH) on 31 October 2020: Another lawyer from Turkey has been arrested Free Seda Saraldı ! We, the undersigned international lawyers’ associations, have for many years…
ELDH Appeal to the Serbian Government
ELDH is deeply concerned about reports from 28 July 2020[1] that the Serbian government suspects numerous human rights organizations in Serbia of money laundering and terrorist financing. A total of 37 civil organizations, media and foundations and 20 private individuals were affected. In a letter to all commercial banks in Serbia, they were asked to…
Conference Report – Rethinking labour law in the digitalisation era – 15 and 16 October 2020
On 15 and 16 October 2020 a very well attended video conference with about 650 registrations was organised by the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI), the European Lawyers for Workers (ELW) Network and the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), with the support of the European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and Human Rights (ELDH). Simultaneous…
Letter to the Permanent Representative of Germany to the UN: necessary measures for a fair and timely peace settlement in Western Sahara
Excellency,As representatives of human rights organisations, civil society andsolidarity groups from Germany, we are writing to ask you and allMembers of the Security Council to take the necessary measuresfor a fair and timely peace settlement in Western Sahara! In the run-up to the UN Security Council vote on the renewal of theMINURSO mandate, this is…
ECtHR – Court President Robert Spanó’s recent controversial visit to Turkey
Independence, Impartiality and the ECHR: Court President Robert Spanó’s recent controversial visit to Turkey Dr Özgür Heval Çınar (member of the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers) Today the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) is seen as one of the most effective mechanisms in the protection of human rights in Europe. We may also say…
European lawyers demand the release of their Iranian colleague Nasrin Sotoudeh
As the European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights (ELDH) with members in 21 European countries, we draw your attention to the worsening health condition of the Iranian lawyer and human rights activist Ms. Nasrin Sotoudeh. On 11 March 2019 Ms. Sotoudeh was sentenced in absentia by the Islamic Revolutionary Court in…
European lawyers protest against US sanctions on the International Criminal Court
On 2 September 2020, U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo announced the imposition of sanctions, namely inclusion in the Specially Designated Nationals And Blocked Persons List (SDN), on International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and the Court’s prosecution jurisdiction director Phakiso Mochochoko, for investigating allegations that U.S. troops committed war crimes in Afghanistan. The…
European Lawyers demand: Workers rights must be respected in Belarus
The situation in Belarus at the moment is extraordinary and worries the legal community around the world. People go out into the streets every day, every Sunday they accompany large-scale and unprecedented rallies, demonstrations and processions. Illegal actions of the authorities, extreme violence by the police and the authorities, for which the Government of the…