Sep 14, 2020 | News
Today, the ICJ called on Turkmenistan to comply with its international legal obligations to release detained lawyer Pygamberdy Allaberdyev, who is alleged to be arbitrarily detained, or to charge him with a cognizable crime consistent with international human rights law.
Allaberdyev, who has been denied access to his lawyer, should be provided access to the lawyer hired by his family and should have access to family members. He should be sufficiently informed about any charges against him which justify his arrest and should be provided with medication, food and other necessities which may be necessary to protect his right to life and health.
According to the Russian-based Memorial Human Rights Centre, on 5 September at about 7 pm, Pybamberdy Allaberdyev and another person were leaving a grocery store, when an unknown young man unexpectedly approached began a verbal skirmish, then grabbed Allaberdiev by the collar. Almost immediately, police officers appeared and the attacker pointed to the lawyer as the instigator of the conflict, after which he left. This conflict is believed to be staged as a justification to detain the lawyer.
Allaberdiev was taken to the police station, where the attacker came with a bandaged hand 20 minutes later. Soon after, Ministry of National Security officers from Ashgabat came to the police station, and accused Allaberdiyev of having links with activists of the Turkmenistan protest movement based abroad. He was interrogated without a lawyer and his house was searched. Family members have sought to provide him with needed medicine and food, but were said to have been prevented by the authorities from doing so.
On 8 September, the Prosecutor’s Office issued an arrest warrant against Allaberdyev. He is charged with crimes under Article 108 (intentional harm to health of moderate severity) and 279 (hooliganism) of the Criminal Code of Turkmenistan. Allberdyev never appeared before the court, as it is the Prosecutor’s Office which authorizes arrest warrants in Turkmenistan, a practice which is contrary to Article 9(3) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Turkmenistan is a party.
The arrest of Pybamberdy Allaberdyev is suspected to be related to his alleged links or discussions with Turkmen activists living outside Turkmenistan who protested against upcoming constitutional amendments. The ICJ is concerned that these charges are arbitrary and in violation of his rights to freedom of association and freedom of expression, protected under the ICCPR, to which Turkmenistan is a party.
The ICJ recalls that, under the UN Basic Principles on the role of lawyers, “Lawyers like other citizens are entitled to freedom of expression, belief, association and assembly. In particular, they shall have the right to take part in public discussion of matters concerning the law, the administration of justice and the promotion and protection of human rights and to join or form local, national or international organizations and attend their meetings, without suffering professional restrictions by reason of their lawful action or their membership in a lawful organization” (Principle 23).
Under the ICCPR, Turkmenistan is also bound to respect the rights to liberty and to fair trial. Under Article 9(3) of the ICCPR, anyone arrested or detained on a criminal charge shall be brought promptly before a judge or other officer authorized by law to exercise judicial power and shall be entitled to trial within a reasonable time or to release. A Prosecutor, as representative for a party to the case, cannot be such an officer.
In this connection, the ICJ stresses that the right of access to qualified legal representation is crucial for the protection of the human rights of those arrested.
Background:
The Republic of Turkmenistan acceded to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1997.
On 19 August 2020, the Constitutional Commission for the development and consolidation of proposals in connection with the introduction of amendments and additions to the Constitution of Turkmenistan completed work on draft amendments to the Constitution. Under the draft amendments, a bicameral parliament, the National Council, would be established, with Khalk Maslakhaty (People’s Council) and the Mejlis (Assembly) being its higher and lower chambers respectively. Under the new amendments, former Presidents of Turkmenistan acquire membership in Khalk Maslakhaty for life.
On 7 September 2020, the Moscow-based Memorial Human Rights Center and the Turkmen Helsinki Foundation issued a statement about the detention of Pygamberdy Allaberdyev, a lawyer at a State oil company, by the police.
On August 2020, a number of Turkmen activists based abroad organized protests against the constitutional amendments and the lack of response of the State to the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkmenistan.
Aug 10, 2020 | News
Today, the ICJ published the recommendations from a workshop on strengthening the work of the specialized bodies of the Bar Association on the protection of the rights of lawyers in Tajikistan, held in December 2019.
The event was held on 16 and 17 December 2019 in the city of Gulistan in the North of Tajikistan for members of the Commission for the Protection of the Rights of Lawyers (CPRL) of the Union of Lawyers of the Republic of Tajikistan.The ICJ organized this seminar in cooperation with the Union of Lawyers of Tajikistan and the Legal Policy Research Centre, Kazakhstan.
The President of the Tajikistan Union of Lawyers, heads of regional departments of the Union of Lawyers, who are members of the Commission on the protection of the rights of lawyers, and other lawyers took part in the two-day discussion.
Based on the outcome of this discussion, the participants elaborated the recommendations to strengthen the work of the Commission. Those recommendations are provided below.
The recommendations have been formulated on the basis of the views expressed by members of the Tajikistan Union of Lawyers addressing the situation in Tajikistan, and are not intended necessarily to reflect the legal or policy positions or other views of the ICJ or to be applicable to other contexts.
This set of recommendations deals with key challenges faced by the CPRL in upholding the independence, security and effective work of lawyers in Tajikistan. However, the list of these issues is not exhaustive nor comprehensive and should be further reviewed in light of ongoing developments in the legal profession and the justice system as a whole.
The recommendations should be read in light of the international law obligations of Tajikistan to protect the right of access to a lawyer, to a fair trial and to effective remedies for violations of human rights, including under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and international standards on the role of lawyers, including the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers.
Recommendations in English (PDF)
Recommendations in Russian (PDF)
Apr 22, 2020 | Advocacy, News
The ICJ based on the consultations with the participants of the Regional Forum of Lawyers held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, published recommendations on the Independence of Legal Profession and Role of Lawyers in Justice Systems of the Central Asian States.
The recommendations draw attention of State and non-State actors in the Central Asian countries to the urgency in ensuring in law and practice the independence of the lawyers’ professional associations and individual lawyers.
“Lawyers play a critical role in strengthening the rule of law and protection of human rights in the justice systems of all countries of the world, including in Central Asia,” Temur Shakirov, ICJ Senior Legal Adviser said.
“We hope that these recommendations, which are based on consultations and international law and standards on the role of lawyers, will contribute to strengthening the independence lawyers and Bar Associations in Central Asia”.
The recommendations, apart from the lawyers’ communities themselves, are addressed to national professional associations of lawyers, Parliaments, and Governments, and specifically Ministries of Justice that continue in some countries of Central Asia to exercise formal and informal influence over the national Bar Association, including by imposing control in regard to access to the profession and disciplinary proceedings.
“The ICJ calls on these institutions to adopting urgent and effective measures legal and policy measures to safeguarding lawyers’ ability to carry out their professional duties in an atmosphere free from any other improper interference, institutional or personal, in each of the countries of the Central Asian region,” Shakirov added.
Background:
On 9 November 2018, the ICJ facilitated the Regional Forum on the Independence in Justice Systems of the Central Asian States in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. This was the first regional event hosted by the Union of Lawyers of Tajikistan, a professional association of lawyers that was established in 2014. The Forum brought representatives of the National Bar Associations of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan. The event was also supported by Legal Policy Research Centre (LPRC), a think tank from Almaty, Kazakhstan, that works on the reform of legal profession in the region.
The participants of the Forum highlighted the continuing and renewed attempts to undermine the independence of the professional associations of lawyers in countries of Central Asia, including targeted disbarment and harassment of individual lawyers for fulfilment of professional duties towards their clients. The participants also discussed the emerging practice of the establishment of specialized bodies for the protection of the rights of lawyers within the professional associations of lawyers to counter negative trends in Central Asian countries, affecting the legal profession.
Recommendations, in PDF: Central Asia-Recommendations-Advocacy-2020-ENG
Mar 12, 2020 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
At the UN, the ICJ today highlighted the need for Kazakhstan to ensure the independence of the legal profession and the judiciary, in particular by ending the arbitrary disbarment of lawyers.
The statement, delivered during the adoption of the outcome of the Universal Periodic Review of Kazakhstan by the Human Rights Council in Geneva. The statement read as follows:
“The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) welcomes the acceptance by Kazakhstan of the recommendations by Denmark (138.83), France (139.85), Mexico (139.86) and Austria (139.113) to uphold the rule of law and to protect the independence of the legal profession and the judiciary.
The ICJ however regrets that Kazakhstan only noted and did not explicitly support the recommendation by Czechia to “take immediate measures to ensure the effective protection of lawyers, media workers, bloggers and human rights defenders against any form of harassment” (139.114).
Furthermore, based on ICJ research, we regret to report that Kazakhstan’s assertion that the accepted recommendations are “in the process of implementation” (A/HRC/43/10/Add.1, para. 4) is simply not correct.
On the contrary, the ICJ considers that the independence of the legal profession is being actively undermined in the country.
The ICJ expresses particular concern at disbarment proceedings initiated by the Ministry of Justice, including the recent disbarment of Amanzhol Mukhamediarov and Yerlan Gazymzhanov.[1]
Finally, the situation is exacerbated by a Law on Advokatura that does not require the Bar Association’s authorisation to initiate disbarment proceedings.
To actually implement the recommendations accepted by Kazakhstan, ICJ calls on Kazakh authorities to stop all harassment of lawyers through disciplinary proceedings, readmit the lawyers unduly disbarred and reform its Law on Advokatura in line with international standards on independence of the legal profession.”
[1] See ICJ statement at https://www.icj.org/kazakhstan-disbarment-of-erlan-gazymzhanov-and-amanzhol-mukhamediarov-undermines-the-independence-of-the-legal-profession-icj-says/ .
Mar 6, 2020 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
The ICJ, speaking in a general debate at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, urged all States to work together towards adoption of a treaty on business and human rights, and highlighted threats to the independence of the judiciary in Europe.
The statement, delivered in the general thematic debate at the Council, read as follows:
“The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) welcomes the report of the 5th session of the Intergovernmental Working Group (A/HRC/43/55) in charge of the elaboration of a treaty on business and human rights and notes the consensual nature of its conclusions and recommendations. Abuses of human rights and environmental degradation caused with the involvement of business enterprises have so far been met with very limited action by businesses and States.
The ICJ considers that the revised draft treaty is a serious and advanced proposal that is suitable for negotiations and thanks the Chair-Rapporteur for its efforts and leadership in this process.
The ICJ urges States that are not yet actively involved in the negotiations to join the growing number of States that are active for a final push.
The ICJ also draws the attention of the Council to serious threats to independence of judges and lawyers in European countries.
In Poland, judges are being disciplined merely for applying EU law, under legislation curtailing their freedom of expression and independence.
In Turkey, independence of lawyers and judges continues to be seriously compromised, as demonstrated by the disciplinary proceedings against the Gezi trial judges launched after critical comments by the President of Turkey.
The ICJ urges the Council to give attention to these developments of extreme concern.”
