Sri Lanka: Parliamentary privilege used to undermine independence of the Judiciary

Sri Lanka: Parliamentary privilege used to undermine independence of the Judiciary

The ICJ expressed concern about attacks on the independence of the judiciary in Sri Lanka under cover of parliamentary privilege.

On 22 August 2023, Sarath Weeresekera, a former Minister and a Member of Parliament belonging to the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, the country’s ruling political party, made an inflammatory speech with racist undertones in Parliament, referring to T. Saravanaraja, the Mullaitivu Court’s Magistrate repeatedly as “a mentally ill person”, and criticizing a court order Judge Saravanaraja had made, while making personal remarks about him, including a mention of his wife. Judge Saravanaraja has been the target of this invective following an order he made upholding the right of religious worship of Hindu devotees at a Hindu shrine on Kurundur Hill, a contested religious site in the North of the country.

Egypt: end widespread and systematic enforced disappearances

Egypt: end widespread and systematic enforced disappearances

On the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, the ICJ denounces Egypt’s widespread and systematic resort to enforced disappearance to crackdown on dissidents, and calls on the Egyptian authorities to:  

    As part of its campaign, “Stop Enforced Disappearance,” launched on the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances on 30 August 2015, the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms has published annual reports on enforced disappearances in Egypt since 2015. Over the course of seven years, the campaign has documented the enforced disappearance of 3,088 people from the headquarters of the National Security Agency (NSA) and other official and unofficial detention sites. The campaign has also monitored the phenomenon’s patterns over the same period, showing that its practice is systematic and widespread. 

Tunisia: End Judicial Harassment of the President of the Tunisian Judges’ Association

Tunisia: End Judicial Harassment of the President of the Tunisian Judges’ Association

البيان باللغة العربية على هذا الرابط

On August 21, Judge Anas Hmedi, President of the Tunisian Judges’ Association (Association des Magistrats Tunisiens, AMT), is set to appear before an investigating judge at the Kef Court of First Instance, facing charges of “inciting to cease work” arising from a judicial strike in 2022, seven human rights groups said today.

The undersigned human rights organizations call on the Tunisian authorities to drop the charges against Anas Hmedi and end all forms of harassment against judges exercising their rights to peaceful freedom of expression, assembly, and association.

Nepal: Proposed Bill allowing Government to withdraw criminal cases threatens justice and accountability

Nepal: Proposed Bill allowing Government to withdraw criminal cases threatens justice and accountability

Geneva – The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) is concerned that legislation introduced by the Government on 16 July could serve to further impunity for serious crimes by giving the Government authority to withdraw criminal cases.  The ICJ calls on the government to withdraw or modify the proposed bill to bring it into conformity with its international legal obligations.

The Bill to Amendment Some Nepal Acts, 2023 (2080 BS), particularly its

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