Two lawyers arrested in Burundi

Brussels, 28 July 2011 – Avocats Sans Frontières (ASF) expresses its deep concern following the detention of two Burundian lawyers in Bujumbura, including the President of the Bar Association of Burundi. ASF believes that the grounds for this double detention are at odds with the principles of independence and freedom of speech for lawyers. ASF,…

International Criminal Justice, an ideal under construction

On the 17th of July we celebrate International Criminal Justice Day, a day that symbolizes the hopes of victims but also the evolving consensus within the international community to prevent and punish the crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Thirteen years ago, on this day, representatives of 120 states adopted the Rome…

ASF kicks off in Nepal

Kathmandu, 30 June 2011 – ASF is pleased to announce the signing of the General Agreement between ASF and the Nepalese Social Welfare Council. This event took place in Kathmandu on 12 June and involved Julie Fournier, the ASF Head of Mission in Nepal and Dr Chhewang N. Lama, Member-Secretary for the Social Welfare Council, which is…

Verdict Chebeya case : the Congolese justice at a crossroad

Brussels, 24 June 2011 – For Avocats Sans Frontières, that represents the brothers and sisters of the human rights activist Floribert Chebeya, the verdict reached by the Congolese Military Court on 23 June 2011 brings only few answers to the circumstances of the murder of Chebeya on 1 June 2010 and the disappearance of his…

Long detention before trial in Uganda violates rights

Kampala, Uganda – Keeping detainees in prison for long periods without trial is in violation of the Uganda Constitution and international human rights law, finds Avocats Sans Frontières (ASF) and the International Human Rights Program at the University of Toronto in a joint report released on 15th June. The report entitled “Presumed Innocent, Behind Bars:…

Housing rights of Palestinians in East Jerusalem are not being respected

Brussels, 7 June 2011 – The violation of housing rights of Palestinians in East Jerusalem by Israeli authorities affects directly the lives of Palestinian families and is a breach of international law, concludes a report commissioned by ASF. The report presented on 31 May 2011 in Brussels is the result of a fact-finding mission done…

« East Jerusalem is not Downtown Tel-Aviv »

Brussels, 6 June 2011 – Sami Erschied is Palestinian and Daniel Seidemann Israeli. Both are lawyers defending the rights of Palestinian families living in Sheikh Jarrah – an area in East Jerusalem – and forcibly evicted from their homes by the Israeli authorities. Present at the seminar organised by ASF in Brussels for the launch…

Lieutenant-Colonel Mutware (DRC) sentenced to 20 years imprisonment

Avocats Sans Frontieres (ASF) is pleased to report a decision that was recently issued in the province of South Kivu on February 21, 2011, sentencing Lieutenant-Colonel Daniel Kibibi Mutware, interim commandant in the 43rd operational sector of the Amani Leo operation of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (AFDRC), along with…

From the Brussels Bar to a tribunal in Haifa

Ms Maryse Alié is a lawyer at the Brussels Bar and a member of ASF’s International Legal Network. In this capacity, she has participated in several missions of judicial observation of the emblematic trial of “Rachel Corrie” in Haifa (Israel), and hosted training sessions in Burundi on the role of lawyers in the prevention of…

Challenging Rwanda

Eradicating the ideology of genocide but respecting freedom of speech. Avocats Sans Frontières is no stranger to Rwanda; present since 1996 the organization initiated, in close collaboration with the European Union and the Belgian Kingdom, a program for the most vulnerable people seeking justice. ASF provides legal aid and a lawyer for those who need…

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