The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) condemns the ongoing attacks against independent lawyers in Belarus, a number of whom are facing disbarment, arbitrary prosecution, and other forms of harassment by authorities as they perform their professional duties and exercise their right to freedom of expression.
On 20 May 2023, under the auspices of the Civil Committee for the Independence of Justice – a Tunisian civil society initiative created in 2022 to defend judicial independence – the International Commission of Jurists, jointly with Tunisian and international civil society organizations, held an international seminar to highlight the attacks on the independence of the judiciary in the country since President Kais Saied’s institutional power grab in July 2021.
The International Commissions of Jurists joined by Amnesty International, FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights), Human Rights Watch, Open Society Foundations, RECLAIM and Transparency International EU have sent an open letter to EU Ministers on continued rule of law backsliding in Poland and Hungary
In response to news on 17 May 2023 of the fatal shooting of Bounsuan Kitiyano, a 56-year-old Lao human rights defender and a refugee recognized by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in a border town in northeastern Thailand, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and nine other organisations urge the government of Thailand to independently, effectively and promptly investigate this incident and ensure effective remedy to the victim’s family and loved ones.
Since President Kais Saied’s institutional power grab of July 25, 2021, followed by his decree of September 22 of the same year, which implicitly repealed the constitutional order, and the adoption of a tailor-made Constitution a year later, the judicial system has been subjected to constant attacks aimed at crushing its independence and sweeping away the right to a fair trial.
Tunisia must quash guilty verdicts against anti-pollution protesters and investigate alleged torture of human rights activist
Egypt: NGOs demand the immediate and unconditional release of Ibrahim Metwally, detained solely for peacefully exercising his human rights
Egypt: Authorities must stop persecuting political opponent Ahmad Tantawi and his wife
Libya: Investigate unidentified bodies and reported mass graves in Abu Salim