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Cases
| | Saddam Hussein صدام حسين This trial of Saddam Hussein was heard by the Iraqi Special Tribunal - a body illegally created by the United States government as an intended consequence of their illegal invasion and occpation of Iraq. Despite two legal opinions by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the condemnation of the trial as illegal by every independent legal expert who examined it, the Iraqi President was summarily, extrajudically and arbitarially executed.
|  Photo: APF
| Abdul Salam Zaeef & Other Detainees This case was the first case filed with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights involving detainees being held by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef was a spokesman for the Taliban and the Afghan Ambassador to Pakistan. He was arrested in Pakistan shortly after the US invasion and incarcerated at
Guantanamo Bay.
Abdul Salam Zaeef was a petitioner in the case presented to the Inter-American Commission together with other Guananamo Detainees (see Guantanamo Detainees below).
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Photo: AP/Tariq Aziz | Saad Eddin Mohammed Ibrahim Saad Eddin Mohammed Ibrahim, a leading advocate of democracy in Egypt, was imprisoned for opposition to the Egyptian government on charges that were later discredited. A case was filed with the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights on his behalf. The article by Curtis Doebbler, enttiled "The Rule of Law v. Staying in Power: The State of Egypt v. Saad Eddin Mohammed Ibrahim," describes Criminal Case No, 13422/2000 before the Egyptian Court of Cassation, Criminal Division, Cairo Egypt. (reprints available) |  Photo: Issandr El Amrani | Ghazi Sulieman Ghazi Sulieman is a pre-eminent Sudanese human rights lawyer and elected member of the parliament in Sudan, the National Assembly. His struggle for human rights in Sudan is legendary. He has represented figures ranging from Sheik Mahmoud Mohammed Taha to John Garrang, often speaking out publicly on their behalf without fear for reprecussions that have repeatedly landed him in prison and led to his persecution and mistreatment. We successsfully brought cases to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' rights that led to his release from prison and allowed him to run for Parliament after the government signed a peace agreement with the southern rebel group. | 
Photo: BBC | Abimael Guzman & Other Shinning Path Detainees Abimael Guzman is regarded as the founder of the Shining Path, an armed revolutionary movement in Peru in the 70s and 80s. In 1992, after a three day trial by a court of hooded military judges, Guzman was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Abimael Guzman and many others were tortured and denied basic rights of legal representation and petitioned the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
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Photo: BBC | Guantanamo Detainees This case involved a petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and two Amicus submissions to the United States Supreme Court on issues of international law. The US Supreme Court submissions contributed to the court's decision to uphold the right of habeas corpus for prisoners who are under the jurisdiction of the United States government. The Inter-American Commission has refused to deal with the petition submitted to it, although it remains pending.
|  Photo: US Navy | Ethiopian Refugees in Sudan This case was brought on behalf of approximately 15,000 Ethiopian refugees in Sudan who are threatened with deportation and inhumane treatment after UNHCR and the Sudanese Government invoked the cessation clause of the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention without taking into account other African human rights instruments.
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Photo: unknown | Asylum Seeker Around the World We bring cases and cooperate with other lawyers and refugee associations on aslyum cases in the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and South America. Asylum seekers are among the most vulnerable people in the world because they have fled their country because of a well-founded fear of persecution or other serious reasons. They lack protection from their countries and often must rely on themsleves for protection. We assist them in getting this potection.
|  Photo: ICRC | Prisoners We represent and work with prisoners around the world. We also cooperate with Prisoners Overseas and Foreign Prisoners Support Network to assist prisoners abroad in obtaining legal representation. Some of the prisoners we are assisting or have assisted include those in Iraq, in Uganda, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, the United States, the Netherlands, Italy, Algeria, and Palestine. One of those individuals who we represented is Dr. Nasser al-Shaer, the deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister of the Palestinian Authority at the time. We welcome enquires from prisoners who have exhausted domestic remedies and believe they are being detained without a legal basis.
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Photo: credit unknown | Victims of War We have frequently intervened on behalf of victims of war in Iraq, Palestine, Sudan, Panama, Afghanistan, Somalia, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, and elsewhere. We remain willing and ready to assist all victims of war through legal representation in their claims for damages and in representation to states and international organizations to ensure their rights are respected and to try to end violations of international human rights and/or international humanitarian law. |  Photo: unknown | Indigenous Peoples Indigenous Peoples are those who come from a particular country or region. Often they are in a minority or in vulnerable positions because of lack of opportunities equal to those of other groups in the population. They are sometimes oppressed by governments that refuse to recognize their cultural, social, economic, political, or civil rights. We work with or represent many indigenous people who are fighting for their rights in their own country. Among the indigenous peoples with whom we work are the al-Tuwaiya of Oman, the Ogoni of Nigeria, and the indigenous people of Hawaii. In each case the individuals belonging to these groups have been denied some basic human rights, sometimes even the right to reocgnition as a people recognition. Often these cases are resolved through negotiations with the governments concerned. | 
Photo: United Nations |
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