Lawyers Under Threat
While there are a number of established international legal standards protecting the rights of lawyers, external factors such as geopolitical tensions and shifting governance systems are dramatically increasing pressure on lawyers. Their role in society has usually been to safeguard the rule of law and serve as a medium between individuals and a government’s legal system. However, when restrictive authoritarian governments begin to attack the rule of law, they also target lawyers, conflating them with their clients – opposition figures, human rights defenders, or journalists – and perceiving them as enablers of dissent and resistance.
The methods of attack range in scope and intensity from forced non-disclosure agreements and disciplinary sanctions to disbarment, physical abuse, criminal charges, and even murder. Diego García-Sayán, former United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, noted that between 2010 and 2020, “more than 2,500 lawyers were killed, detained, or kidnapped in different regions of the world.” Actions like these not only deprive defendants of meaningful access to justice but also create a profound chilling effect on the legal profession. This in turn, ripples across society, impeding civic freedoms as a whole.
Endangered Lawyers in Belarus
Unfortunately, Belarus is an example of why DEL is needed. Belarusian lawyers have faced – and continue to face – persistent, deliberate attacks from the government for over a decade. Following the 2010 presidential elections, lawyers experienced a wave of prosecutions, disbarments, and harassments when they began representing opposition figures, journalists, protestors, and regular citizens. The government continued to suppress lawyers after the 2017 protests that took place in response to a tax imposed on the unemployed – mocked as the “law against social parasites.” The repressive tactics included changes to the judicial system, conducting invasive inspections, and governing lawyers’ activities, making their work even more dependent on the executive branch and further undermining legal independence.
Repression of lawyers intensified following the fraudulent “reelection” of Lukashenko in August 2020 and the subsequent protests. The government’s response was similar to previous crackdowns, but far broader in scope, targeting peaceful protestors at an unprecedented rate. In the months following the 2020 presidential election, Belarusian authorities detained over 30,000 people, subjecting many to detention and heavy fines. Criminal cases were brought against more than 900 individuals, while at least eight people lost their lives due to excessive force during protests or in custody. Since May 2020, over 5,500 individuals, including at least 55 children, have been convicted in unfair trials on politically motivated charges. Currently, Belarus holds over 1,200 political prisoners, with new arrests continuing.
Lawyers representing opposition figures, protesters, and activists have been included in these attacks, with at least 141 disbarred, 23 arbitrarily detained, and 11 convicted, six of whom are currently imprisoned. The number of licensed lawyers has plummeted from 2,200 in early 2020 to 1,603 by the end of 2023 – an alarming trend in a country already suffering from limited legal representation. National and local bar associations, acting under directives from the Ministry of Justice, have rushed disciplinary hearings, punishing lawyers either for their involvement in politically sensitive cases or for exercising their fundamental rights to free expression and assembly.
There are many cases of persecuted lawyers deserving of public attention. Among them is Maxim Znak, member of presidential candidate Viktor Babariko’s legal team and notably one of the first lawyers arrested and prosecuted in the aftermath of the elections. Znak was charged with politically motivated offenses, including “conspiracy to seize power,” and sentenced to 10 years in prison. He has been held incommunicado since February 2023, and unfortunately, neither his family nor his lawyers know where he is or the status of his health. Additionally, all of the lawyers who defended Znak have since been disbarred.
How Can the International Community Respond?
The international community must take decisive action to ensure Belarusian authorities and other governments uphold their obligations under international law, end judicial repression, secure the release of political prisoners, and safeguard the independence of lawyers in carrying out their professional duties.
The American Bar Association Center for Global Programs (CGP), which includes the ABA Rule of Law Initiative and the ABA Center for Human Rights, has a long-standing commitment to supporting the rule of law around the world, with efforts in Belarus, for example, dating back to 1992. Among ABA ROLI’s impactful initiatives was the establishment of a law students' clinic at a local university, which continues to operate successfully as of 2023.
ABA CHR has been assisting human rights defenders globally since 2001 and has provided support to Belarusian lawyers, defenders, and journalists since 2012. Following the contentious 2020 presidential election, ABA CHR intensified its efforts, providing technical assistance to over 11 lawyers and human rights defenders, publishing and contributing to a number of comprehensive reports, as well as conducting advocacy at the highest level with presidential statements, rule of law letters, and interviews highlighting the organization’s commitment to the rule of law and the protection of legal professionals in Belarus.
While DEL helps create awareness, there is a lot more work that should be done to combat these threats. The international community can support lawyers and prevent them from becoming another casualty of authoritarian takeovers by:
- Provide technical, legal, and financial assistance to lawyers and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that are working to help them.
- Leverage existing international frameworks such as the United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers and regional mechanisms like the Inter-American Court on Human Rights, while introducing new tactics to address emerging threats. The European Convention on the Profession of Lawyer proposes stronger protections for lawyers, ensuring their ability to work without interference or fear of retaliation. This would potentially create legal obligations for member states, reinforcing the importance of the legal profession in defending human rights.
- Advocate for more robust protections and increase awareness through international mechanisms, regional bodies, bar associations, and human rights organizations. Efforts can be pursued at the national level through calls for sanctions or internationally, via submissions to UN bodies. Systematically documenting abuses ensures that targeted lawyers receive much-needed visibility, while applying pressure on regimes to adhere to their international obligations.
- Establish robust solidarity networks that can offer essential support to those at risk. Digital tools can be used to document abuses and enhance transparency. For example, a coalition of organizations, including ABA CHR, is developing a database, Endangered Lawyers Data Coalition, to track and analyze attacks on lawyers globally. This has the potential to aid in accountability efforts, promote awareness, and strengthen advocacy initiatives by providing both quantitative and qualitative data.
Silencing lawyers is a calculated move in the broader strategy of weakening civil society’s capacity to oppose autocratic regimes. By defending marginalized communities, activists, journalists, opposition figures, and civil society actors, lawyers challenge state conduct and demand accountability, often at great personal and professional risk. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whom the United States recently honored on January 20, famously stated, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” It is the collective duty of every lawyer, bar association, NGO, and government to oppose these targeted attacks that undermine the rule of law.