Feb 3, 2015 | News
The ICJ condemns yesterday’s decision of the Giza Felonies Court to confirm the death sentences of 183 individuals that had been simultaneously imposed in one mass trial.
The charges include murder, mutilation and attempted murder and relate to an attack on a police station in Kerdasa that took place in August 2013.
According to the ICJ, the trial has involved a litany of violations of fair trial rights, including denying many of the accused the right to legal counsel, denying the right to a public hearing, refusing to allow defence witnesses to testify, prohibiting the cross-examination of prosecution witnesses by defence counsel, and failing to produce credible evidence as to the individual guilt of each accused.
“Once again, Egypt’s judiciary has abdicated its fundamental responsibility to uphold the rule of law and human rights, instead resorting to unfair mass trials and death sentences as a technique to suppress dissent and to crack down on critics of the military and Government,” said Said Benarbia, Director of the ICJ MENA Programme.
“Egypt’s judiciary must act independently, impartially, with integrity and as a check against the Executive’s arbitrary powers and policies, not as a tool to implement them,” he added.
The imposition of death sentences following unfair mass trials constitutes a gross violation of Egypt’s obligations under international human rights law, including those relating to the right to life, the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and fair trial rights.
The ICJ opposes the use of the death penalty in all circumstances as a violation of the right to life and a form of cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.
The UN General Assembly has repeatedly, by a large majority, called for a moratorium on its use.
Even those states that retain the death penalty have acknowledged that any imposition of the death penalty through a process that fails to meet the most stringent fair trial standards, inherently violates the right to life.
Contact:
Said Benarbia, ICJ Director of the ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme, t: 41 22 979 38 17, e: said.benarbia(a)icj.org
Feb 3, 2015 | News
On 2 February, the ICJ observed the trial of lawyer Kalid Baghirov, before the Nizami District Court of Baku.
In the case, the Azerbaijan Collegium of Lawyers seeks disbarment of the prominent lawyer (photo), who recently acted in a number of high profile cases in Azerbaijan, including on behalf of human rights defenders.
Following a letter of the Sheki Court of Appeal alleging misconduct by Khalid Baghirov during the trial against Ilgar Mammadov, leader of the “Republican Alternative” movement and former presidential candidate, on 10 December 2014 the Presidium of the Collegium of Lawyers suspended Khalid Baghirov’s practice.
At the same time, the Presidium applied to the Nizami District Court seeking complete termination of his right to practice law. The Court accepted the case for consideration.
The ICJ commissioned an international observer, Liliya Vigel, a lawyer practicing in the Republic of Uzbekistan, to observe the hearing in the case before the Nizami District Court.
The ICJ observer also met with the representative of the Collegium of Lawyers, with lawyer Baghirov, with members of the Presidium of the Collegium, and with a number of non-governmental organizations to collect information about the case.
The ICJ continues to monitor the case in relation to international standards on human rights and the rule of law, including as regards respect for the role of lawyers, and plans to publish a report on the proceedings in due course.
Contact:
Róisín Pillay, Director, Europe Programme, roisin.pillay(a)icj.org
Temur Shakirov, Legal Adviser, Europe Programme, temur.shakirov(a)icj.org
Feb 2, 2015
An opinion piece by Daniel Aguirre, ICJ’s International Legal Adviser in Myanmar, and Irene Pietropaoli, an independent consultant and researcher on Business and Human Rights based in Yangon.
Jan 30, 2015 | E-bulletin on counter-terrorism & human rights, News
Read the 89th 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...
Jan 29, 2015
Today, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) salutes Dr Lydia Foy for her courage and determination and congratulates her for bringing legal recognition of transgender people finally within reach in Ireland.
During a period spanning over two decades, Dr Lydia Foy was forced repeatedly to bring legal proceedings challenging the Irish authorities’ continuing failure to issue her with a new birth certificate reflecting legal recognition of her female gender.
The ICJ intervened before the High Court in Dublin as an amicus curiae, a friend of the court, in the latest case brought by Dr Foy. She sought an effective remedy against the Irish State’s violation of her right to respect for her private life as a result of the authorities’ failure to make provisions for the legal recognition of her acquired gender identity.
Today, 29 January 2015, the Irish state and Dr Foy formally settled the case before the High Court following the publication and introduction of the Gender Recognition Bill in the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament), and the start of the parliamentary debate on the Bill.
It is high time that Ireland enacts legislation giving effect to their international human rights legal obligation to legally recognize people’s preferred gender identity. The ICJ urges the Irish authorities to proceed promptly to ensure that trans persons in Ireland obtain as of right a birth certificate showing the gender that they prefer. In doing so, the Irish authorities should ensure that each person, whatever their gender identity, may enjoy their internationally recognized human rights without discrimination, including their right to respect for their private life.
Background
In October 2014 the ICJ filed written legal submissions in Dr Foy’s case to assist the High Court in the determination of certain points of law relating to the right to an effective national remedy under the European Convention on Human Rights. The organization’s submissions addressed, among others, the requirement that a domestic remedy be effective in law and practice. Namely, that a remedy must be accessible and enable the enforcement of the substance of the rights at stake; and that the national authority before which recourse is had must be capable of granting an appropriate relief, and offer reasonable prospects of success.
The ICJ was represented pro bono by Gráinne Gilmore BL and Elizabeth Mitrow and Wendy Lyon of KOD Lyons Solicitors.
