Posts Tagged ‘lawyers4lawyers’

Amsterdam Dean’s Award presented to Muhannad al-Hassani

October 22, 2010
On Thursday 21 October 2010, a week after the MEA ceremony in Geneva, Muhannad Al-Hassani, has also received the Amsterdam Dean’s Award. The Amsterdam Bar Association has been following his case and is convinced that the actions taken against him are textbook examples of violations of human rights. His freedom of speech, freedom of association and freedom of assembly, in addition to the freedom to practice his profession, have been unacceptability restricted. Muhannad al-Hassani, was very well aware of the personal risks of his work, but did not allow these to discourage him. Iyas Maleh, the son of the 80-year old Syrian lawyer, Haitham al-Maleh (who was Al-Hassani’s counsel) and who is also serving a prison sentence, accepted the award on behalf of Muhannad al-Hassani.  You can read more about this and the speech given by Amsterdam Dean Germ Kemper at http://www.advocatenvooradvocaten.nl/cms/content/view/403/31/.  The pressure on the Credentials Committee of the International Bar Association to  throw out the Syrian Bar is growing.