Criminal Bar Association industrial action in Ireland

Whereas the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers does not accept the territorial claim by the government of the United Kingdom to exercise jurisdiction over that part of the island of Ireland known as ‘Northern Ireland.’

Whereas Haldane calls for the unionisation of the legal sector and for all members of the legal profession in the United Kingdom to join a trade union to represent their interests and the interests of the administration of justice.

Whereas Haldane stands in solidarity with the victims of crime under the present conditions of capitalist exploitation in the United Kingdom.

Haldane stands in solidarity with the Criminal Bar Association (of ‘Northern Ireland’) in its withdrawal of Crown Court services between 6 and 31 January 2025.

Legal aid is a fundamental pillar of the administration of justice in the United Kingdom and should be seen as an indispensable pillar of the welfare state.

Criminal legal aid ensures access to justice to defendants, especially those whose liberty is at stake.

Legal aid rates for criminal defence work in ‘Northern Ireland’ were set 20 years ago and have since fallen to half their original value with inflation.

Haldane calls upon the Justice Minister of ‘Northern Ireland’ to meet the reasonable demands of the CBA and to immediately resolve the industrial dispute in the interests of justice.

Statement on the war in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (“OPT”)

We recognise that the Israeli State is perpetrating a system of apartheid[1] throughout historic Palestine, including in the OPT, in accordance with the racist ideology of Zionism. Along with the International Court of Justice, and most jurists, we recognise the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination. We recognise that Palestinians have a legally and morally unimpeachable right to resist Zionist colonialism, occupation, and ethnic cleansing.

 This brutalisation is endorsed by so-called “rule-of-law” states that are funding the increased militarisation of Israel and the occupation. This has created an untenable situation of extreme and daily violence and conflict. We recognise that the fundamental cause of violence throughout historic Palestine is Israel's settler colonial project, and the Zionist ideology that animates it.

 In the current context, we do not condone any acts of unlawful violence. We vehemently oppose the brutalisation and killing of civilians.

 We note with grave concern reports that Israel is now preparing for a full scale ground invasion of the Gaza strip.

 The State of Palestine, while recognised by the International Criminal Court and many states, is denied sovereignty, and does not have control over its own borders, air space or natural resources. The West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem (the territory of the State of Palestine) are occupied territory, as confirmed by the International Court of Justice, the UN Security Council, and the UN Commission on Human Rights (now the UN Human Rights Council).

 The occupation of Palestine is decades-long and marked by disproportionate violence against Palestinians, as recognised by international bodies, for example:

The Goldstone Report concluded that Israel’s deliberate attacks on the population of Gaza during Operation Cast Iron Lead in 2008-9 constituted grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention and thus constituted a war crime

• The UN Report into Operation Pillar of Defence in 2012 concluded that Israel did not uphold the principle of proportionality

• The 2014 UN Inquiry Report into Operation Protective Edge concluded that the massive levels of destruction of residential and infrastructure “may have been adopted [by Israel] as a tactic of war”, which would constitute a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

• The UN Gaza Protest Inquiry concluded that the force used by the Israeli security forces in 2018-19 risked violating the principles of proportionality.

Israel has formulated the Dahiya Doctrine  to guide its military operations in Gaza. This is a policy of strategic deterrence and asymmetric warfare. It aims use of disproportionate force to cause great damage and destruction, and to increase the cost (financial and human) of post-conflict recovery.

This puts Palestinian people at particular risk of ethnic cleansing given both historic precedent and current Israeli retaliation supported implicitly and explicitly by powerful Western actors.

The international community

Despite recognition that Israel is an occupying power perpetrating war crimes and a system of apartheid in Palestine, there is an ongoing lack of accountability, including:

• Failure to uphold the 2004 ruling of the International Criminal Court that the “Separation Wall” separating Israel from the West Bank, whose route does not follow the “Green Line” (the internationally recognized border between Israel and the OPT), violates international law;

• Failure to implement the findings of the UN independent Commission of Inquiry on the 2014 Gaza conflict, and the UN Independent Commission of Inquiry on the 2018 Protests in the OPT;

• Failure to take action following UN condemnations of Israel’s occupation and violations of international law due to the US’s repeated use of its power of veto; and

• Failure to hold Israel accountable through Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement which requires respect for human rights and democratic principles.

 We recognise that this is a decades-long political problem which the current international legal framework, without effective measures to enforce accountability, has proved inadequate to solve. 

The UK

The UK continues to allow arms to be exported to Israel and criminalises protestors who target arms factories. In the past weeks, we have seen those who publicly express views in favour of Palestine being victimised. We are committed to using our expertise to defend those who are targeted in this way.

In the last week, the UK political elite has condemned the acts of Hamas but stayed silent on the systematic brutalisation of Palestinian people and the war crimes perpetrated by Israel: those happening right now and those which have taken place over the past decades.

 Sir Keir Starmer is the leader of the Labour Party in the UK and a former human rights lawyer. When asked on national radio whether cutting electricity and food were contrary to international law, Sir Kier said “…Israel has a right to defend herself. It is an ongoing hostage situation and responsibility lies in one place, that is with Hamas.”

 This amounts to an endorsement of collective punishment, war crimes and ongoing occupation. UN rapporteur on the OPT Francesca Albanese commented that “It is extremely concerning that a senior politician expresses support for the commission of war crime and, potentially, a crime against humanity: such is intentional starvation of civilians when part of a widespread or systematic attack on a civilian population.”

 We expressly condemn Sir Keir’s uncritical endorsement of Israeli war crimes as deeply irresponsible, and as undermining international law. We also note the broader parallels in the usage of the “terrorism” label to legitimise the brutalisation of Muslim people globally through the so-called War on Terror which has seen states including the UK engage in  murder and displacement of millions.

 We call on Sir Keir to withdraw his remarks, which are incompatible with his duties as a lawyer, a politician and as a human being.

 As socialists and as lawyers, the Haldane Society supports peaceful negotiation and stands in unflinching solidarity with the people of Palestine in their justified struggle to liberate themselves from Israeli colonialism and apartheid. It isn’t merely that the Israeli government should withdraw from Gaza, but that Israel’s apartheid regime and the Zionist ideology that animates it should be dismantled entirely.

 We will be making a donation in solidarity to Medical Aid for Palestinians

[1] Apartheid is defined as a crime against humanity by the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. It is also classified as a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions when practiced in situations of armed conflict and as such is a war crime. The Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa, the Israeli human rights NGO, B’Tselem, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, multiple Palestinian NGOs including Al Haq, and two former UN Special Rapporteurs on Palestinian human rights have concluded that Israel has instituted an apartheid regime over Palestinians.

Statement: Türkiye, the Committee for the Prevention of Torture, and Abdullah Öcalan

The following statement was endorsed by the Haldane Society’s executive committee on Tuesday 3rd January 2023.

Türkiye must stop disrespecting the CPT's recommendations – and end the illegal isolation of Abdullah Öcalan and his fellow prisoners in İmralı

For over 3 years, Abdullah Öcalan's lawyers have been prevented from visiting their client in İmrali prison. Since March 2020, family members have not been able to visit him either. In the more than 20 years prior to that, visits by lawyers and family members were also largely prevented.

We, the undersigned organizations, therefore welcome the fact that The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) carried out another ad hoc visit to Türkiye from 20 to 29 September 2022. During this visit, the CPT also visited the prison island of İmralı, where Abdullah Öcalan has been imprisoned for more than 20 years. The aim of this visit was "to examine the treatment and conditions of detention of all (four) prisoners currently held in the establishment. In this connection, particular attention was paid to the communal activities offered to the prisoners and their contacts with the outside world." In the past, the CPT's regular visits to Türkiye have taken place almost annually. In addition, there have also been several ad hoc visits. Numerous visits by the CPT have also taken place to İmralı Prison Island. In its discussions with Türkiye’s government representatives, the CPT has consistently highlighted the untenable conditions of Abdulla Öcalan's detention.

In its report on the 2019 inspection at İmralı, published in 2020, the CPT concluded:

"However, the situation regarding the prisoners' regime had not improved at all since the CPT's 2016 visit." "In the Committee's view, such a state of affairs is not acceptable." This applies equally to Abdullah Öcalan's opportunities for contact with his 5 fellow prisoners, as well as to the denied possibility of receiving visits from family members and his lawyers. The CPT therefore called for "More specifically, a sustainable system of regular visits by family members and lawyers should be developed for all prisoners held at İmralı Prison."

We see the CPT's recent ad hoc visit as confirmation that the CPT shares its concern that the government of Türkiye has not adjusted the conditions of Abdullah Öcalan's detention in line with the CPT's repeated recommendations. This is confirmed by the CPT's press statement issued after the visit, which states: "The delegation also held consultations with Akın Gürlek, Deputy Minister of Justice, and Enis Yavuz Yıldırım, Director General of Prisons and Detention Centres, as well as with other senior officials of the Ministries of Justice and Foreign Affairs, on the implementation of long-standing recommendations made by the CPT concerning İmralı Prison."

We regret that the CPT has not yet published details of its visit to İmralı and its discussions with Turkish government officials. The CPT's reference in the last published report on its visit to İmralı in September 2022 can only be understood to mean that the unacceptable conditions of Abdullah Öcalan's detention continue and that the deficiencies pointed out have not been remedied.

We call on the government of Türkiye to take immediate account of the CPT's criticisms and to implement the CPT's recommendations, in particular as regards visits by lawyers and family members, and to respect Turkish, European and international legal provisions in this regard.

We further call on the government of Türkiye to take a position without delay on the CPT's report on the September 2022 inspection of the CPT and to pave the way for its publication

We call on the Council of Ministers of the Council of Europe to discuss the government of Türkiye’s persistent refusal to comply with the CPT's recommendations and to discuss the necessary steps.

In view of the notorious refusal of the Turkish government to follow the recommendations of the CPT, we call upon the CPT to make use of Article 10 (2) of the Convention and to publish in advance a statement outlining the main abuses and the impact on the health of the detainees on İmralı, even before the possible publication of its report.

Original signatories:

Center of Elaboration and Research on Democracy/Group of International Legal Intervention (CRED/GILI) European Association of Lawyers for Democracy & World Human Rights European Democratic Lawyers, AED
Giuristi Democratici, Italy
Republikanischer Anwältinnen- und Anwälteverein e.V. , Germany Syndicat des Avocats pour la Démocratie (SAD), Belgium

Vereinigung Demokratischer Juristinnen und Juristen

Verein Für Demokratie und Internationales Recht (Maf-Dad) Vereniging Sociale Advocatuur Nederland, the Netherlands

Statement on raid of Palestinian NGOs

The Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers unequivocally condemns the latest assault on Palestinian civil society by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) directed by Benny Gantz, Defence Minister for the Israeli Government.

On 18 August 2022, six prominent Palestinian NGOs based in the West Bank – Al-Haq, Addameer, Bisan Center, Defense for Children International-Palestine (DCI-P), the Union of Agricultural Works Committees (UAWC), and the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees (UPWC) – had their offices raided by the IDF, with files and equipment being seized in the process and their doors welded shut. At the entrance of each office, military orders were left declaring that the organisations were illegal. This follows the six NGOs being proscribed as ‘terrorist organisations’ last October, a move which has been condemned by the European Union, Amnesty and Oxfam amongst other international civil society organisations and NGOs. In April, the United Nations condemned the move, saying the designations were ‘not accompanied by any public and credible evidence’.

In a press conference following the raid, Al-Haq’s director, Shawan Jabarin said that the NGOs will ‘continue our work defending justice and international law.’ It is clear that the Israeli clampdown on Palestinian civil society is an attempt to repress organisations that document human rights abuses and use the framework of international law in order to hold the Israeli state to account. Michael Sfard, lawyer for some of the designated groups, said that the attacks were motivated ‘out of a desire to frustrate the International Criminal Court proceedings’ which Israel has continued to not cooperate with. The last 12 months has seen increased pressure on the six NGOs, including intimidation against staff, judicial harassment and travel bans.

The Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers condemns these attacks against human rights defenders and civil society organisations at the hands of the Israeli Government. The Haldane Society stands in solidarity with our colleagues across Historic Palestine who face intimidation and threats to their lives for documenting human rights abuses and providing crucial legal support to those who face the brunt of Israeli state violence.

- Haldane calls for Israel to rescind the decision to designate the six NGOs as ‘terrorist organisations’ and to cancel the military orders, in order to allow Palestinian human rights defenders to continue doing the vital work they do;

- Haldane calls on other international civil society organisations to counter these sustained attacks on Palestinian civil society by refusing to recognise these malicious designations, and to continue funding their crucial work;

- Haldane continues to insist that all European states are under an obligation to do everything in their power to bring to an end the illegality and oppression of Israel’s continued occupation since 1967, which is the root cause of the current violence;

- Haldane urges all European states to give the maximum support to the ICC and its new Prosecutor in carrying out their investigation without hindrance, in particular Israel, which has effectively declared war on the ICC.

ELDH Statement – Restore rights and values at Europe’s borders

Statement from our affiliate organisation, European Association of Lawyers for Democracy & World Human Rights (‘ELDH’):

ELDH condemns the cynical killings and beatings of migrants by both Moroccan and Spanish Border Forces at Melilla on 24 June 2022. They are being used as political pawns. We urge a humanitarian response from the African Union, the EU and its Member States to require both Morocco and Spain to respond in a humane manner in line with their international legal obligations.

The enclaves of Melilla and Ceuta in Northern Morocco were retained as Spanish Territory when Morocco gained independence in 1956. They are therefore the first European externalised borders and have long been the scene of unlawful killings of migrants attempting to cross into Europe.

The killing of at least 37 people (Moroccan Human Rights Group AMDH estimate) by Moroccan security forces and the injury of over 100 others trying to cross from Morocco to Spain on 24 June is the largest and most brutal. Migrants are used as pawns in negotiations over the independence of Western Sahara as prior to Spain’s endorsement of Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara in May. Morocco had “turned a blind eye” to migrants crossing into Spanish territory (10,000 in May 2021 and nearly 500 in early June 2022). Western Sahara’s pro-independence Polisario Front wants a UN supervised referendum on self-determination.

Thousands of vulnerable migrants remain stranded in Morocco. This is a continuing humanitarian crisis which causes immense suffering.

Highly vulnerable groups are weaponised in this struggle. They include many Victims of Trafficking fleeing war and persecution in sub Saharan Africa.

ELDH therefore proposes the following responses:

Access to seeking asylum at the border

Access to Spain should be allowed both in law and in practice in accordance with EU and international law, irrespective of the manner of arrival. Spanish and Moroccan Border Officers should refrain from the use of excessive force. Measures aimed at preventing people from accessing EU territory such as forceful pushbacks, beatings and killings must be prohibited.

We call on the European Union and other relevant international and regional actors to ensure:

Human rights based border governance

Safe migration pathways

Individual assessment of asylum claims

Protection from collective expulsions, arbitrary arrest and detention

EU response

The EU, its commission and member states must respond to the border crisis in accordance with their international obligations, not bow to pressure from Spain. There should be no derogation from the current political and legal framework which can ensure a humane transition for those currently suffering on the externalised European borders at Melilla and Ceuta.

Spanish and Moroccan Enquiry

Spain and Morocco should give a swift and public condemnation of the recent events, outlining steps to carry out an effective and independent investigation into the circumstances of the deaths and injuries, identifying those responsible and ensuring accountability.

UN Special Rapporteur on Refugees

The Special Rapporteur should carry out an independent enquiry into the events in Melilla of 24th June 2022.

Migrants detained in Melilla and Ceuta

International standards of accommodation should be maintained for those currently detained.

International Access

The border should be accessible to international media and monitored by independent actors to ensure that EU and international law is respected. Acts of violence by state enforcers and others should be condemned and investigated.

Statement against war crimes committed in Palestine and Israel

The Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers expresses its grave concern at the latest outbreak of violence in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs).

As a result of the violence so far, at least 230 Palestinians have been killed, including 65 children, in Gaza, by Israeli airstrikes. Palestinian rocket fire has so far killed 12 in Israel, including one child. On 11 May 2021, the Israel Defence Forces stated that at least 15 of the 230 Palestinian casualties were confirmed members of Hamas. As of 19 May 2021, the Palestinian National Authority reported injuries for at least 1710 Palestinians, while as of 12 May Israel reported at least 200 injured Israelis. Haldane notes this disparity.

As of 19 May, at least 72,000 Palestinians have been displaced. Calls for a ceasefire were first proposed on 13 May by Hamas, but rejected by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has so far been resisting calls by the USA. for a ceasefire.

There is no doubt that war crimes have been committed both by Israel, in deliberately targeting civilians and causing wanton damage, and by Hamas, in firing rockets at Israel civilians.

On 3 March 2021 Fatou Bensouda, Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced the Investigation by her Office into crimes alleged to have been committed in the Situation in Palestine since 13 June 2014. The territorial scope of the ICC’s criminal jurisdiction extends to Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The ICC has already been denounced by Mr Netanyahu as an anti-Israeli conspiracy, but Haldane urges all European states to give their full support to the ICC’s investigation, which will extend to all individuals, Israeli or Palestinian, suspected of committing crimes under the Rome Statute of the ICC.

The present violence started on 6 May 2021, when Palestinian protests began in Jerusalem over an anticipated decision of the Supreme Court of Israel on the eviction of six Palestinian families from Sheikh Jarrah in occupied East Jerusalem. Under international law, the area, illegally annexed by Israel in 1980, is part of the Palestinian territories that Israel occupied in 1967. The protests quickly escalated into violent confrontations between Jewish and Palestinian protesters. On 7 May, Israeli police stormed the compound of the al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam.

Haldane recalls that its longstanding Executive Committee member and International Secretary, Professor Bill Bowring, was a member of the English lawyers’ Mission to Sheikh Jarrah in December 2010. In its report, published in May 2011 by Avocats Sans Frontières, and available on the ELDH website (https://eldh.eu/en/), the Mission gave full details of the relevant international law, and of the aggressive attempts by Israeli settlers to evict Palestinian families from their homes by force. The events of May 2021 are a continuation of this aggression and illegality. By tragic coincidence, 15 May 2021 was Nakba Day, the annual day of commemoration of the Nakba, also known as the Palestinian Catastrophe, which saw the destruction of Palestinian society and its homeland in 1948, and the permanent displacement of a majority of the Palestinian people.

On 12 January 2021 the Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem, published its momentous Report “A regime of Jewish supremacy from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea: This is apartheid”. It stated that Israel’s regime of apartheid and occupation is inextricably bound up in human rights violations. It explained in detail why Israel’s regime is correctly described in international law as apartheid. On 27 April 2021 Human Rights watch followed with its Report entitled “A Threshold Crossed

Israeli Authorities and the Crimes of Apartheid and Persecution”.

These are amongst the crimes to be investigated by the ICC.

• Haldane insists that all European states are under an obligation to do everything in their power to bring to an end the illegality and oppression of Israel’s continued occupation since 1967, which is the root cause of the current violence. Instead, the EU and the UK have continued to collude with Israel.

• Haldane urges all European states to give the maximum support to the ICC and its new Prosecutor in carrying out their investigation without hindrance, in particular Israel, which has effectively declared war on the ICC.

• Haldane demands that all parties to the conflict, in particular Israel, which has the overwhelming preponderance of military power, and which is responsible of the illegality which gives rise to the present violence, cease their military activities forthwith.

Solidarity with Black Lives Matter following the killing of George Floyd

The Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers stands in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement globally.

On the 25th May 2020 in Minneapolis, an African-American male was murdered by the state. His name is George Floyd. George was subject to extreme police violence which resulted in his death. A video circulated showing a White male officer kneeling on his neck. The officer continued to do this for several minutes even as George told him he could no longer breathe. George was not resisting arrest and was in handcuffs, and the footage shows him in pain and distress. George pleas for help were ignored and his life cut short because of the actions of the police.

This comes just after the recent arrest of a former police officer for the racist murder of Ahmaud Arbery. He was murdered because a former officer and his son thought Ahmaud, who was out jogging in a white middle-class neighbourhood, was a burglar. It took public outcry on social media about the murder (which happened on 23rd February 2020 ) and video circulation of the incident for an arrest to take place on the 7th May 2020.

This is not the first instance in which black people have felt the heavy hand of the police since the lockdown measures came into place.

Since lockdown measures began, Black people in the UK and aboard have been subject to a tirade of disproportionate policing. The latest, resulting in the death of George Floyd.

The UK is not exempt from this. Black men in the UK are 40 times more likely to be stopped and search by the police. Black men also disproportionately die as a result of the use of force or restraint by the police.

The Haldane Society stands with Black Lives Matter globally and calls for an end to racist policing.

Please support Haldane in condemning the recent unjust Murder of George Floyd and many others on social media by tweet #Justceforgeorgefloyd online and using the #blacklivesmatter hashtag. Please also donate and support the Black Lives Matter movement on their page.

You can also support some UK racial justice organisations here.

Statement against the prosecution of Paul and Sam Newey

The Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers condemns the decision to prosecute Paul and Sam Newey, who attended court remotely on 7 May, and urges that all charges against them be dropped.

Both are charged with supporting terrorism. Paul is charged with funding terrorism for allegedly sending a sum of £150 to his son Dan who in 2017 joined the People’s Protection Unit (YPG) in Rojava (the autonomous region of North and East Syria, western Kurdistan) in their fight to defend themselves against Da'esh (ISIS). Sam is accused of engaging in conduct to assist his brother to prepare or instigate acts of terrorism.

The Haldane Society also urges the release of Dan Burke, currently remanded in custody pending trial on terrorism charges related to fighting with the YPG.

The YPG is not a terrorist organisation and those who support them should not be liable to prosecution under terrorism related legislation. The YPG and its sister organisation the YPJ have defended the people of the autonomous region of Rojava first against Da’esh, and then, following the defeat of Da'esh due in large part to their efforts, against invasion from the Turkish state. The decision to treat the YPG as a terrorist organisation must be understood in the context of European states' capitulation to Turkish geopolitical interests, in an effort to maintain the violent externalisation of the EU's borders.

In line with its historic persecution of Kurdish people within its own territory, and viewing the existence of an autonomous Kurdish region as an existential threat, Turkey has repeatedly attacked Rojava. This has been both militarily, through the invasion and ongoing occupation of Afrin and airstrikes on the border in October 2019 following the withdrawal of US forces, and also through violent enactment of settler colonialism, enforcing demographic change by replacing Kurdish families in the region with displaced Arab families from other parts of Syria and Palestine (with Erdogan even stating that desert-dwelling Arabs were more suited to the region than mountain-dwelling Kurds).

Not only is Turkey a member of NATO, but the 2016 EU-Turkey deal made it an outpost of fortress Europe as Turkey agreed to stem the “flow” of refugees into European states in exchange for €6bn in EU aid. As a result, Erdogan has been able to weaponise EU anti-migration border politics, notably through lifting controls on migrants leaving Turkey on 28 February this year after suffering a heavy military loss in north-west Syria. This was with the aim of pressuring the EU to support its offensives in Syria, including those against the YPG and YPJ.

It is in this context that the prosecution of Paul and Sam Newey on terrorism-related charges must be understood. It must be seen also as part of an ongoing practice of raids, arrests and criminalisation of the Kurdish community and allies in the UK, as well as the recent inclusion of many leftist and anti-fascist groups in counter-terrorism policing guidance. The British state's willingness to criminalise its own citizens and their family members for fighting fascist forces should be deeply troubling to us all, and must be resisted.

Statement regarding the proposed extradition of Julian Assange to the United States

The Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers opposes the extradition of journalist and publisher Julian Assange to the United States of America. We are gravely concerned that any extradition would legitimise the extra-territorial over-reach of the US state, who are which is proposing to try Mr Assange, a non-US citizen, in the US under US laws, without First Amendment protections of free speech. If extradited, Mr. Assange, will be placed in administrative detention and, if convicted, he faces a possible prison sentence of 175 years for his actions that revealed serious war crimes. Permitting the extradition of Mr. Assange to the United States would therefore set a dangerous precedent.

The Haldane Society also notes that the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention have found Mr Assange to be a victim of prolonged and severe psychological torture and arbitrary detention. Given these findings, we urge the British government to observe its duties under international law and domestic law, to investigate and to take appropriate action to address any breaches of Mr Assange’s human rights.

We are also deeply concerned about the breaches of Mr Assange’s rights to privacy and to legal privilege. Mr Assange, like all other accused, has the right to a free and fair trial. The British state is required to afford all defendants their human rights, to honour international law whether deriving from treaty or from international custom and practice, and to ensure that British domestic law is upheld. Such considerations are not intended to be optional or dependent on the nature of the crime, the nature of the circumstances or the discretion of the judge or the State.

At the present time of pandemic, the Haldane Society also strongly supports Mr Assange’s request for immediate bail, given his chronic lung and other medical conditions, the expert testimony regarding the spread of COVID-19 in prisons and other detention facilities, and the risks therefore arising to the life of Mr Assange and all prisoners from potential exposure.

Imprisoned lawyers in Turkey: how can we show solidarity?

5 April 2020 will be the 60th dayof hunger strikes for 4 Turkish lawyers in prison for defending their clients.

Join us to hear about their case and to find out how we can show internaitonal solidarity in the time of Corona.

Via Zoom:
Meeting ID: 549371600
Password: 004126

Any questions to mmunrokerr@gmail.com