on Uustice The Harassment and Persecution of Judges and Lawyers June 1991 - May 1992 Centre for the Independence ot Judges and Lawyers G e n ev a - S w itz e rla n d Editor: Mona A. Rishmawi Established in 1978 by the International Commission of Jurists in Geneva, the Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers: - promotes world-wide the basic need for an independent judiciary and legal profession - organizes support for judges and lawyers who are being harassed or persecuted. In pursuing these goals, the CIJL: - works with the United Nations in setting standards for the independence of judges and lawyers. The CIJL was instrumental in the formulation of the UN Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary and the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers endorsed by the UN General Assembly; - organizes conferences and seminars on the independence of the judiciary and the legal profession. Regional seminars have been held in Central America, South America, South Asia, South-East Asia, East Africa, West Africa and the Caribbean. National workshops have been organized in India, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Paraguay and Peru; - sends missions to investigate situations of concern, or the status of the bar and judiciary, in specific countries; - provides technical assistance to strengthen the judiciary and the legal profession; - publishes a Yearbook in English, French and Spanish. It contains articles and documents relevant to the independence of the judiciary and the legal profession. Over 5,000 individuals and organizations in 127 countries receive the CIJL Yearbook; - publishes a yearly report on “Attacks on Justice: The Harassment and Persecution of Judges and Lawyers” world-wide. Appeals Network Jurists and their organizations may join the world-wide network which responds to CIJL appeals by intervening with government authorities in cases in which lawyers or judges are being harassed or persecuted. Affiliates - Contributors Jurists’ organizations wishing to affiliate with the CIJL are invited to write to the Director. Organizations and individuals may support the work of the CIJL as Contributors by making a payment of Swiss francs 200 per year. Contributors receive all publications of the CIJL and the regular publications of the International Commission of Jurists. Subscriptions to CIJL Publications Subscriptions to the Yearbook and the annual report on “Attacks on Justice: The Harassment and Persecution of Judges and Lawyers” are Swiss francs 15 per year surface mail, or Swiss francs 18 airmail. As of January 1993 new rates will apply: Swiss francs 25 each, or for combined subscription Swiss francs 43, including postage. Payment may be made in Swiss francs or in equivalent amount in other currencies either by direct cheque valid for external payment or through a bank to Societe de Banque Suisse, Geneva, account No. 142.548; National Weslminster Bank, 63 Piccadilly, London W1V OAJ, account No. 11762837: or Swiss Bank Corporation. 4 World Trade Center, New York, N.Y. 10048, account No. 0-452-709727-00. Pro forma invoices will be supplied on request to persons in countries with exchange control restrictions. Cenli c for lln. Independence of Judges and Lawyers I’.O Hox 160 t 11 i 216 C ftintrin / Geneva Ifeg? • ASRAX- CHENOVE ((5)) Attacks on Justice The Harassment and Persecution of Judges and Lawyers Ju n e 1991 - M ay 1992 International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) E ditor Geneva, Switzerland M ona A. Rishmawi Assistant Editors Suzanne Seltzer Peter Mason Haseena Enu Beatrice Sene ^GT-CIJL* ATT L $ 1 0 ISB N ®2 W 7 ®64 5 (Copyright <© (Dartlre (for tflhe Independence (OfJndggS and (Lawyers,, UB92 To the Colombian and Italian judges who have sacrificed their Lives for the cause ofjustice ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In preparing this report, the Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers (CIJL) relied heavily on information given to it by local sources. These include the following: In Africa, the Constitutional Rights Project (Nigeria); the Kenya Section of the International Commission of Jurists; the Law Society of Lesotho; the Bar Association of Senegal; Lawyers for Human Rights (South Africa); the League for Human Rights (Togo). In Asia, the Japan Federation of Bar Associations; the Japan Civil Liberties Union; the Human Rights Committee of Pakistan, Justice Dorab Patel, and Makhdoom Ali Khan (Pakistan); the Free Legal Assistance Group of the Philippines (FLAG), the Protestant Lawyers’ League of the Philippines, the Philippine Bar Association, and the National Bar Association of the Philippines; the Bar Association of Sri Lanka; the Bar Association of India, and its president, Fali Nariman; the Australian Section of the International Commission of Jurists. In Europe and the United States of America, the Human Rights Association (Turkey); the British/Irish Rights Watch; the Association of Judges of the Czech Republic; the International Human Rights Law Group (USA). In Latin America, the Andean Commission of Jurists (Peru); the Colombian Section of the Andean Commission of Jurists; Defence of Children International (Ecuador); Centro de Investigaciones Sociales y Asesorias Legales Populares (CISALP), and its director, Dr. Octavio Carsen (Argentina). In the Middle East and North Africa, al-Haq (occupied West Bank) and the Gaza Centre for Rights and Law; the Egyptian 7 Organization for Human Rights; the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights and Democratic Freedoms in Syria; Dr. Amin Mekkin Meddani, Adam Abdel Moula, and the Sudan Human Rights Association; advocate Asma Khader (Jordan), advocate Nadia Khalipha, and the Association of Judges (Yemen). The CIJL also relied on the work of other international human rights organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights. Special recognition is due to the researchers at Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch who have once more provided invaluable assistance, painstakingly retrieving information from their files, providing constant updates, and responding to endless queries. The CIJL was also aided by the publication of the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, entitled In Defence of Rights. Attacks on Judges and Lawyers in 1991. The entries in this report were prepared by Suzanne Seltzer, Peter Mason, Haseena Enu, Beatrice Sene, Michelle Anderson and Carime Diaz-Triana, law interns with the ICJ/CIJL, and Elena Manitzas of the Colombian Section of the Andean Commission of Jurists, an intern with the International Service for Human Rights. Fateh Azzam, Tina Meldrum and Jens Kristian Birthin also provided useful editorial assistance. 8 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction .....................................................................................11 A lgeria...............................................................................................17 A rgentina..........................................................................................19 Brazil ................................................................................................23 Chad ................................................................................................ 25 C hina................................................................................................ 26 Colombia ......................................................................................... 34 Czechoslovakia ............................................................................... 55 D jibouti............................................................................................ 56 Ecuador............................................................................................ 57 Egypt ............................................................................................... 58 El Salvador...................................................................................... 64 G hana............................................................................................... 66 Guatemala ....................................................................................... 71 H aiti.................................................................................................. 72 India ................................................................................................. 75 Iran ................................................................................................... 80 Israel and the Occupied Territories.............................................. 82 Italy...................................................................................................88 Japan ................................................................................................ 91 Ivory Coast ...................................................................................... 92 Kenya ...............................................................................................96 Lesotho ....................................................................................... 106 9 Malawi ........................................................................................... 108 M alaysia......................................................................................... 110 Mali ................................................................................................ 113 Myanmar (Burm a)........................................................................ 115 N igeria............................................................................................ 126 Pakistan.........................................................................................