Jun 7, 2013 | News
The ICJ today expressed its grave concern at death threats received by lawyers Sapiyat Magomedova and Musa Suslanov.
The authors of the threats demanded that the lawyers cease their involvement in a case alleging the murder of five individuals.
The ICJ called on the authorities to take urgent protective measures to ensure the safety of lawyers who received these threats.
On 8 May, Sapiyat Magomedova and Musa Suslanov took on a case to represent relatives of a local parliamentarian, Magomed Gamzatov, his brothers Osman, Yusup and Gazidibir and their cousin Magomed Omarov. The men were killed by firearms in the city of Kizlyar, Dagestan, on 18 March.
According to relatives, the shootings resulted from a conflict of a personal nature. A criminal case was opened and several people arrested in relation to the killing.
However, the relatives of the victims have alleged that they have been subjected to continuous surveillance and pressure. Witnesses reportedly now fear to testify in the case.
From the start the lawyers began to be subject to intimidation, which included threats that their professional offices would be set on fire or blown up with the lawyers inside. Such threats were delivered through acquaintances of the lawyers.
On 19 and 20 may, after the two lawyers had announced a more proactive intervention in the case, including by inviting information from additional witnesses, the lawyers received text messages warning them that they should drop the case which was “their chance to stay alive”.
Another message demanded that they drop their involvement in the case and “not butt into something they should not do”.
The ICJ considers that there is an imminent risk to the lives and physical security of lawyers, especially taking into account the recent case of murder of a lawyer in Dagestan.
On 20 January 2012, a lawyer in Dagestan was shot to death with the alleged involvement of security forces. According to the information received by the ICJ, the case has still not been properly investigated and no one has been held accountable.
The ICJ recalls that under international law and standards, Russia has an obligation to protect the right to life of individuals where there is a real and immediate risk to the life of an individual from the criminal acts of a third party.
The UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers provide that “where the security of lawyers is threatened as a result of discharging their functions, they shall be adequately safeguarded by the authorities”.
Effective measures to protect the lawyers should include security measures as necessary, such as police monitoring and guards. This issuance of death threats constitutes criminal conduct.
The ICJ called on the Russian authorities to promptly and thoroughly investigate these threats and to bring the perpetrators to justice in fair trials.
Lawyer-deaththreats-Russia-eng (download the statement in English)
Lawyer-deaththreats-Russia-rus (download the statement in Russian)
Contact:
Róisín Pillay, Director, ICJ Europe Programme, t +41 22 979 38 30; e-mail: roisin.pillay(a)icj.org
Temur Shakirov, Legal Adviser, ICJ Europe Programme, t +41 22 979 38 32: e-mail: temur.shakirov(a)icj.org
Jun 6, 2013 | Multimedia items, News, Photo galleries
Judges from Central America met in Guatemala on 4-5 June at the International Conference on Impunity and Independence of the Judiciary.
The Conference was organized by the ICJ with the support of the Canton de Genève, Dan Churchaid and medico international.
Jun 4, 2013 | E-bulletin on counter-terrorism & human rights, News
Read the 73rd issue of ICJ’s monthly newsletter on proposed and actual changes in counter-terrorism laws, policies and practices and their impact on human rights at the national, regional and international levels. The E-Bulletin on Counter-Terrorism and Human...
Jun 2, 2013 | Multimedia items, News, Video clips
Judges from Central America met in Guatemala on 4-5 June at the International Conference on Impunity and Independence of the Judiciary.
The conference was followed by a public debate on the role of judges in confronting the phenomenom of impunity.
The event was organized with the support of the Canton de Genève, Dan Churchaid and medico international.
Below, listen (in Spanish) to Ramón Cadena, ICJ Regional Director for Central America, who talks about the importance of this conference, and to judges Rubenia Galeano (Honduras), Juan Antonio Durán (Salvador), Carlos Oviedo (Nicaragua), Haroldo Vásquez (Guatemala) and Adriana Orocú (Costa Rica) who talk about impunity and the independence of the judiciary in their respective countries.
Ramón Cadena habla de la Conferencia Regional sobre Independencia Judicial y fenómeno de la impunidad en Centroamérica.
Rubenia Galeano (Honduras) habla del fenómeno de la impunidad y de la situación de la independencia judicial en su país
Juan Antonio Durán (Salvador) habla del fenómeno de la impunidad y de la situación de la independencia judicial en su país
Carlos Oviedo (Nicaragua) habla del fenómeno de la impunidad y de la situación de la independencia judicial en su país
Haroldo Vásquez (Guatemala) habla del fenómeno de la impunidad y de la situación de la independencia judicial en su país
Adriana Orocú (Costa Rica) habla del fenómeno de la impunidad y de la situación de la independencia judicial en su país
May 31, 2013 | Agendas, Events
Some 30 judges from the highest national courts from 16 countries in Asia and the Pacific will meet in Bangkok, Thailand on 2-4 June to discuss the role of the judiciary in the AIDS response.
The meeting is convened by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the ICJ as part of efforts to address concerns that legal environments, including laws and policies, law enforcement practices and access to justice across the Asia and the Pacific do not consistently protect people most at risk of HIV infection and those living with HIV from violations of their human rights including health, privacy, non-discrimination and freedom from violence.
The judges’ discussions will be supported by experts and resource people from communities living with HIV, representatives of sex workers and men who have sex with men, people who use drugs and transgender people and United Nations entities.
The ICJ has always believed that an independent judiciary is essential in delivering justice to vulnerable populations, including those living/infected with HIV.
As Mr. Sam Zarifi, Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, said: “The judiciary has a crucial role to play in establishing a legal environment that assists the struggle against the spread of HIV. In Asia and the Pacific, those most at risk of contracting HIV are often among those with the least access to justice. An independent judiciary can help protect at-risk populations from discriminatory laws, negative stereotypes, and misguided policies.”
May 30, 2013 | Agendas, Events
The event will be held Friday, 31 May 2013, from 16.00 to 18.00, in Geneva, Palais des Nations, Room XXVII. It marks the 5th anniversary of the HR Council adoption of the Framework “Protect, Respect and Remedy”.
It also promotes the publication of the ICJ Report on “Corporate complicity in international crimes”. It will highlight the fact that the business and human rights agenda in the Human Rights Council remains unfinished, especially in the critical areas of access to justice and accountability, as well as the need for bold Council action to provide States and other actors with the necessary tools to ensure remedy and justice to victims of serious human rights abuses committed by or with the complicity of corporations in home and host countries.
HR Council-UN SIDE EVENT Business-Event-2013 (full text in pdf)
