Update in the case of Vadim Kuramshin

The charges against Vadim Kuramshin, that he allegedly attempted to extort money from Mukhtar Uderbaev from the Kordai regional prosecutor’s office, were clearly fabricated.

Under the lead of judge Nurmukhammat Abidov this latest trial was rushed through and the sentence declared without either Vadim himself or his advocate being present in the courtroom. They were replaced by a court appointed lawyer who sat there as if he was just an extra piece of furniture.

The trial was conducted with many breaches of procedure. From the beginning the judge took the side of the prosecution. Not one objection from the defense was upheld, neither defense or prosecution witnesses were questioned. Some of the prosecution witnesses appeared by Skype in which members of the “security organs” showed no reluctance instructing the witnesses how to give the “right evidence”. Vadim himself was not even allowed to see the documents submitted to him.

At the end of August a jury found Vadim not guilty of this charge and he was freed from the court. However the Kazakhstan authorities are out to seek revenge on this fighter against corruption. He was again arrested and dragged before the court. This has so annoyed the members of the previous jury that they have formed their own action committee in defense of Vadim Kuramshin.

The Haldane Society of socialist Lawyers have sent protest letters to the President of Kazakhstan and its embassy in London.

Appeal to the Prime Minister of Turkey to End the KCK Trials

Leading British lawyers, who recently observed the latest session of the mass trial of lawyers in Istanbul on 6 November 2012, briefed British parliamentarians on their concerns. Hosted by Hywel Williams, MP for Plaid Cymru, and sponsored by Peace in Kurdistan campaign, the meeting took place on 27 November in Westminster. It was addressed by barristers Margaret Owen OBE, Bronwen Jones and Melanie Gingell, who took part the observer delegation along with lawyers Tony Fisher and Ali Has. Barry White, UK representative of the European Federation of Journalists, also addressed the meeting to draw parallels between this trial and ongoing trials of journalists in Turkey.

Attendees of the meeting were so seriously alarmed by the situation that they unanimously agreed to write directly to the Turkish Government with the attached statement (updated 20 December).

Statement of solidarity for David Rabelo

The Haldane Society has written to the Colombian attorney general expressing its concern about the case of David Rabelo. Read our statement of solidarity here.

David Rabelo is a Colombian human rights defender who has been imprisoned for over two years and until recently had been waiting for a verdict in his case for more than six months. On 5th December his verdict was made official and he has been sentenced to more than 18 years in prison.

David has been convicted on the basis of evidence from an imprisoned paramilitary, who was convicted a result of David’s human rights work. The paramilitary was found guilty of committing two massacres, and in exchange for his testimony against David, his prison sentence was reduced from 40 to a maximum of eight years.  

In recent months it was discovered that the state prosecutor leading the case against David’s case had been previously banned from public office, because of his involvement in a forced disappearance of a young man when he worked for the Colombian police in 1991. Even after this was uncovered the prosecutor was allowed to continue this case against David.

Haldane supports Campaign Kazakhstan

At our annual general meeting on 15 November we passed a motion to lend our support to Campaign Kazakhstan.

Following the AGM we wrote letters to the Kazakhstan president, Nursultan Nazarbayev and to the embassy in London conveying our concern about the treatment of human rights lawyer Vadim Kuramshin.

Vadim Kuramshin was arrested on 31 October in the city of Petropavlovsk, northern Kazakhstan, when a police squad burst into his house and arrested him without presenting any warrant. He was reportedly beaten during the arrest and while held in the detention facility in Petropavlovsk. 

We are pleased that the Law Society has also written to the president expressing its concern.

Emergency Resolution on Gaza Assassinations by Israel

Passed by the AGM 15 November 2012.

"The Haldane Society denounces the assassination of Ahmed al-Jaabari, one of the leaders of HAMAS, which has to be seen against a background of the slow genocide committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip by means of blockade, destruction of infrastructure, the killings of Operation Cast Lead, and the massacre of the Palestinian people."

Emergency protests:

Saturday 17th November 1400-1600

outside the Israeli Embassy, 2 Palace Green, London W8 4QB
(nearest tube High St Ken)

Other protests happening around the UK.

Justice for the Morong 43

The Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers supports the Alliance for the ‘Justice for the Morong 43! Justice for all victims of human rights violations! Alliance’. The Morong 43 are the 43 health workers in the Philippines who in 2010 accused of being members of the New People's Army, who were illegally arrested following an illegal search. The Morong 43 suffered both physical and psychological torture while in military custody and were denied access to lawyers for several days.

Click here to read our letter of support for the Alliance and its endeavours to hold the state to account and fight for the human rights of all in the Philippines.

National Lawyers' Guild (US) calls on U.S. to end arm sales to Bahrain, members abused in anti-democracy crackdown

Just one day after announcing their presence in Bahrain as human rights observers, National Lawyers Guild (NLG) members Huwaida Arraf and Radhika Sainath were arrested at a protest in the capital city Manama and deported back to the United States. Their mission came amid renewed street protests on the one year anniversary of the country's Arab Spring uprising. Their ordeal illustrates the U.S.-backed monarchy's harsh response to its people's continued calls for democracy.

Ms. Sainath, who works as a civil rights attorney in New York, said, "Given the Bahraini regime's treatment of American lawyers one can only imagine the torture and human rights abuses Bahraini democracy activists routinely face - and why the regime is trying to hide it."
Bahraini police arrested Ms. Sainath and Ms. Arraf February 11 near the Pearl Roundabout, the site of last year's Manama protests which were modeled after the revolutionary gatherings in Egypt's Tahrir Square. Authorities confiscated the pair's phones and camera equipment, and deported them the following morning, forcing them to endure the seven-hour flight to London with their hands cuffed behind their backs. During the flight, security officers hit Ms. Sainath on the head three times and told her that if she wanted to go the bathroom she "could go to the bathroom on herself."
"The treatment our members suffered solely for documenting human rights abuse is contemptible and it demands further investigation," said NLG Executive Director Heidi Boghosian. "Further, we call on the U.S. government to take immediate steps to protect the rights of all Bahrainis by suspending all arms sales to the Bahraini government."
The two women traveled to the country as part of the Witness Bahrain initiative, heeding a call by Bahraini democracy activists for international observers. Six more Witness Bahrain activists now face deportation after their arrests earlier today.
Now in its 75th year, the National Lawyers Guild is the oldest and largest public interest/human rights bar organization in the United States. Its headquarters are in New York and it has chapters in every state.

www.nlg.org

Contact:
Nathan Tempey,
Communications Coordinator
communications@nlg.org
(212) 679-5100, ext. 15
New York

Haldane Statement of Solidarity with MOVICE (Movement for Victims of State Crimes, Colombia)

We are writing from the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers, the British organisation of lawyers, academics students, legal workers, trade union and labour affiliates, to express our support and solidarity with the Movement of Victims of State Crimes (MOVICE), a coalition of more than 200 Colombian human rights organisations, lawyers' associations and trade unions.

We understand that since the organisation's creation in 2005, MOVICE leaders and the members of its component organisations have been the continuous target of human rights abuses, including assassinations, death threats, false accusations, fabricated judicial cases and unjust imprisonment.

We also recognise that in the face of these intimidations, MOVICE members continue to carry out invaluable work documenting human rights abuses, supporting and defending the rights of victims, and speaking out against those who perpetrate the violations. Their work is integral to the defence and advancement of human rights in Colombia.
It appears that many of these abuses form part of a smear campaign aimed at delegitimising and debilitating their work. Furthermore, we understand that during the first year of President Santos' administration, from August 2010-July 2011 there was a 44% increase in the abuses against MOVICE members, making it more dangerous to carry out their work on the ground.

We have for several years worked closely with the UK NGO, Justice for Colombia and in particular supported their campaign for the release of political prisoners. We specifically campaigned for the release of Carmelo Agamez, former political prisoner and leader of MOVICE Sucre, and we are currently campaigning for the release of imprisoned MOVICE leader David Rabelo.

In response to the increasing threats, and in recognition of the importance of its members work, we have decided to adopt a wider campaign in solidarity with MOVICE, through which we hope to provide increased support for MOVICE members, according to the organisation's demands and priorities. Specifically, by raising awareness within our membership and through our affiliations to the European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and Human Rights (EALDH) and the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) and by calling on the Colombian authorities to fulfil MOVICE requests.

Statement of Solidarity with NUPL Action against Major General Jovito Palparan

The Haldane Society supports the National Union of Peoples' Lawyers' actions against Maj Gen Jovito Palparan.

The arrest warrant against Gen. Palparan and three other military personnel was issued by the Malolos Regional Trial Court on December 19, 2011. After a month-long manhunt by government law enforcement agencies and after a P1-million bounty has been put up for his capture, the actual whereabouts of the retired general are yet to be known. Palparan's co-accused and sidekick M/Sgt. Rizal Hilario is also still at large.

The victims and families have been waiting for justice for the longest time. There are prevalent doubts from the victims and their families whether the Pnoy administration itself has in fact made any serious, systematic and concrete effort to initiate the effective and genuine investigation and prosecution of human rights violators of the past and the present. "We hope several other victims will, on their own, persist to throw the book at Gen. Palparan and his kind for the most horrific rights violations," said Liz Davies, Chair of the Haldane Society.

The NUPL is the private prosecutor in the case of Kidnapping and Serious Illegal Detention against Gen. Palparan and his co-accused , involving the disappearance of UP students Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan. The NUPL is also the counsel of human rights victims Raymond Manalo, Oscar Leuterio, Melissa Roxas, Ericson Acosta, and the Morong 43 health workers, among others.

Liz Davies
Chair Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers

24th January - International Day of Solidarity with Lawyers in Turkey

Jeremy Corbyn MP joins UK lawyers protest at the Turkish Embassy: 12-1pm 43 Belgrave Square, SW1

The day of action on 24th January, which saw simultaneous actions by lawyers taking place in major cities across Europe, was marked in London with a protest outside the Turkish Embassy, and organised by CAMPACC and Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers, to highlight the intolerable conditions faced by lawyers in Turkey.

Jeremy Corbyn MP and Prof Bill Bowring the President of the European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights were joined by lawyers Margaret Owen, Michael Ellman, Hugo Charlton, Ali Has, Arman Banirad and human rights activist Estella Schmid from CAMPACC and Peace in Kurdistan Campaign.

"The Day of the Endangered Lawyer wants to bring to public attention the widespread human rights violations in Turkey against with lawyers seeking to represent victims of are themselves increasingly being subject to arrest and prosecution. We are here today to show our solidarity with our Kurdish and Turkish colleagues who are being arrested and prosecuted simply for carrying out their normal professional duties. Severe restrictions are routinely placed on the way they represent and relate to their clients with, for example, the taping of conversations, which breaches the principle of confidentiality. The broad definition of terrorism under Turkey's anti-terror laws is at the root of the problem and it means that lawyers can be detained for representing clients who are accused of terrorism" said Professor Bill Bowring

The state's actions against the country's lawyers culminated in the mass arrest of some 36 Turkish and Kurdish lawyers during simultaneous raids carried out in several Turkish cities and provinces on 22 November 2011 as part of the continuing KCK operations, which are a key part of the state's oppressive measures against the Kurdish people. The lawyers arrested include members of the legal team of Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The lawyers remain in custody.

The petition and letter by the Endangered Lawyers initiative which Jeremy Corbyn MP tried to hand in on behalf of the organisation was refused by the Turkish Embassy. The police officer at the entry of the Turkish Embassy was under strict instructions not to allow the delivery of any letters. For information we attach the petition/letter and urge you to circulate it.

The Day of the Endangered Lawyer was organized this year by three European lawyers' associations: the European Democratic Lawyers (AED-EDL, www.aed-edl.net), the European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights (ELDH, www.eldh.eu) and the European Bar Human Rights Institute (IDHAE, www.idhae.org). Together they represent lawyers all over Europe.

We urge you to support the main demands of this lawyers' initiative which is calling for the following:

• Repeal of The Turkish Anti-Terror Law of 1991 which protects the security of the state at the expense of the freedom and security of individuals and violates international human rights law;
• The immediate release of all lawyers detained for political reasons;
• A fair trial for defendants in the KCK trial, including permission for foreign legal observers to attend the trial;
• An international independent investigation into the actions carried out in Turkey against lawyers and other professionals such as journalists in order to hold those responsible for these arrests accountable for violations of basic human rights.

Download the petition here

For further information:

CAMPACC (Campaign Against Criminalising Communities)

e-mail: estella24@tiscali.co.uk

www.campacc.org.uk