IBJ’s work in the DRC started in 2016, with the opening of a Defender Resource Center in Bukavu, in the province of South-Kivu. This center acts as the hub for DRCBJ’s activities, which include providing legal aid to the vulnerable accused, training defense lawyers, conducting rights awareness campaigns and monitoring and visiting detention centers.

As a part of a joint initiative between IBJ India and Delhi Prisons to spread awareness among jail inmates about their rights and duties as prescribed under the law, a team consisting of Mr. Ajay Verma, IBJ Senior Fellow and Advocate, and Ms. Pankhuri Mehandiratte, Advocate, visited Central Jail No.3 on 31 March 2015. Tihar Jail has been identified as Asia’s largest prison complex, housing more than 12,000 under trial and convicted belonging to all age groups.

The event saw an active participation of over 200 inmates who had been charged for petty offences and were waiting for their trial to be completed. The main purpose of the event was to make the inmates aware about the provisions of bail and surety bonds and the juvenile justice act while informing them of their legal rights and duties. Mr. Sanjay, the prison welfare officer appointed by the Government as per Delhi Prisons Act, 2000, also contributed to the interactive discussions with the inmates.

Mr. Ajay Verma and Ms. Pankhuri Mehndiratta were given a warm reception by the prison administration. Mr. Ajay Verma discussed the provisions of bail in bailable and non-bailable cases, addressing the common problem of conditions of bail and surety bonds. A brief discussion followed about the provisions of the existing Juvenile Justice Act. Many inmates were under the false impression that the lawyers appointed by the Legal Services Authorities are state lawyers and that they will not get proper representation as they are being prosecuted by the state. Mr. Ajay Verma clarified this misconception after sharing his 13 years of experience working as a Legal Aid Lawyer. The inmates were also informed about their right to free legal aid. This event also introduced the ‘Information Booklet’, developed by IBJ India and Delhi Prisons to further inform the inmates of their legal rights.

Many inmates were hesitant to disclose their details at first, but IBJ India was able to identify 10 people who were in need of legal aid. IBJ will be returning to meet with them one-on-one in order to ensure that they receive proper representation.

The legal rights awareness event proved to be a huge success. IBJ India is delighted to have the support of the prison authorities and will work to strengthen the bond established between the prison administration and IBJ lawyers. The event proved to be another important step towards strengthening the legal justice system in India.

By Ritvik Mawkin, Intern, IBJ India

Pankhuri A. Mehndiratta and Katyayini,  IBJ India

IBJ India in collaboration with Delhi Prisons organized a two-day capacity building workshop for warders and custodial staff at the Prison Headquarters, Tihar, New Delhi on September 26 -27, 2014. The workshop was aimed at building capacity and legal awareness within the prison system in Tihar. It was attended by custodial staff including Warders, Head Warders, and the Assistant Superintendent from each prison in the Tihar Central Jail and Rohini District Jail. Both days at the workshop saw an encouraging level of interaction and participation by the custodial staff.   After the short introduction given by IBJ India fellow, Mr. Ajay Verma, the Deputy Inspector General, Mr. Mukesh Prasad, inaugurated the session. Mr. Sunil Gupta, Law Officer, Tihar jail, then gave a brief overview of the Delhi Prisons Act and the role of warders.

Mr. Alok Verma, Director General of Tihar Jail, held an interactive session with the custodial staff of the Tihar and Rohini prisons. An array of issues was brought to the attention of Mr. Verma ranging from the unsatisfactory living conditions of the warders and custodial staff to the problems that they face due to the lack of internal mechanisms for promotion. IBJ India was able to facilitate constructive dialogue between management and the staff of the prisons in a bid to strengthen mutual understanding of the challenges they both face.

Mr. D V Trivedi, Former Director of the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD), discussed the conduct of warders so as to ensure effective prison management. The custodial staff was then asked to share their ideas about prison and the purpose of incarceration. Though the majority of the warders and custodial staff agreed that reformation and rehabilitation was the end goal of incarceration, some of them were of the opinion that it is important to adopt a punitive approach towards inmates who are repeat offenders and display no respect for prison regulations. However, the attitude of the custodial staff was largely sympathetic towards the prisoners, recognizing that personal circumstances could have an influential role in their imprisonment and that it was the prerogative of the courts to pronounce someone guilty.

The session then moved on to the discussion of other issues, including the present infrastructure that needs to be upgraded to keep up to date with the latest technology. One specific demand is the need for more CCTV cameras to ensure complete and effective surveillance on part of the custodial staff. Also addressed was the problem of understaffing that is accentuated by the high professional dropout rate due to lack of incentives, promotions, and low wages. The custodial staff was successfully able to bring awareness that there are inadequate cashless treatment schemes for them and that the very few hospitals that offer this were meager in terms of the quantity and quality of these services. The refurbishment of staff quarters was promised by the Director General (Prisons), Tihar, during his interactive session and will hopefully be looked into immediately. Another major problem that was addressed was prison overcrowding. This leads to overwork and burn out of the custodial staff. Moreover, over 70% of the inmate population is under trial, which makes the implementation of discipline more challenging for the staff members. The problem is further pronounced when inmates, despite having been granted bail, are unable to secure their release on account of lack of a surety or the financial means to secure bond.

Mr. Ajay Verma, Advocate and IBJ India Fellow, discussed the role of custodial staff in ensuring justice for the inmates as well as correct bail procedures u/s 167,436,437 of the CrPC, appeals, parole, furlough and juvenile inmates. He also discussed that the segregation of prisoners should be more clearly defined and suggested specialized cells for first offenders. In order to ensure the awareness of the custodial staff about the prevalent legal provisions, judgments and techniques of administering discipline, it is imperative that they should receive regular training sessions. The prison staff then received instruction on the rights of the prisoners and their duties towards them. During the last part of the session, different reformative measures were discussed by the IBJ team members Ajay Verma (IBJ India Fellow) and Pankhuri A Mehndiratta (Advocate).

Dr. Shahzad Ibrahimi, a renowned motivational speaker, was also present as part of the eminent people that shared their energy for the cause of strengthening the criminal justice system and its pillars in order to ensure respect for human rights. Ms. Deepika Gupta, Consultant Psychologist at Human Dynamic, Gurgaon, shared her views on behavioral disorders and suicidal tendencies of prisoners and the role of prison staff in monitoring prisoners. In her highly engaging session, she gave valuable indicators to identify inmates with behavioral disorders to aid the custodial staff in assessing potentiality of suicide within the cells.

Strengthening the core of the criminal justice system of India through capacity building and awareness training helps IBJ India to live up to its mandate of ensuring the respect for human rights and preventing torture during detention. The entire team of IBJ India is extremely grateful for the support and collaboration of the Delhi prison authorities and looks forward to hosting similar events in the future.

IBJ Announces Its ASEAN Youth JusticeMakers Competition 2015

Geneva, Switzerland – April 2, 2015 – IBJ Singapore is pleased to announce the ASEAN Youth JusticeMakers 2015 Competition.  The Competition will award US$5,000 in project funding to young lawyers, aged 20 to 35, from ASEAN countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam, and also including East Timor) who have the most innovative, efficient, and sustainable criminal justice implementation project ideas that aim to eradicate torture as an investigative tool and increase awareness and enforcement of due process rights in their communities.

“Countries in the ASEAN region have come a long way to enact legislation that respect due process rights of individuals and protect individuals from human rights violations. However, these legal developments need to be effectively implemented for people to feel they are truly protected,” said Sanjeewa Liyanage, International Program Director of IBJ. Mr. Liyanage further stated, “Defenders play an important role in safeguarding basic rights of individuals, especially to prevent violations at the hands of the police. I hope this competition will identify creative ideas and innovative individuals from the ASEAN region which could bridge the gap between laws and their implementation.”

JusticeMakers is the world’s first global, online, innovative platform in the area of criminal defense. As of 2014, IBJ has built a global community of 55 JusticeMakers Fellows from 37 countries throughout the world. One of its main components is the online competition, which identifies, trains and funds hidden heroes of justice worldwide who are committed to advocating for positive reform within their respective countries.  The JusticeMakers Competition requires individuals to submit proposals detailing an innovative strategy for promoting criminal justice implementation at grassroots level.  The individual applicants are selected from a vast pool, allotted a US$5,000 stipend to fund their projects and are required to undergo an online training conducted by IBJ Singapore, which are geared toward assisting them in the effective implementation of their projects.

IBJ initiated the JusticeMakers Program in 2008 in an effort to connect defenders in their quest to curb torture and legal rights abuses in their respective communities.  The JusticeMakers Program fuels the international movement towards ensuring that every man, woman and child has the right to competent legal representation, a fair trial and protection from torture as well as cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment.  As the result of collaborative efforts and through the use of web technologies, an online community platform was launched, which serves the purpose of building a unified network of defenders, facilitating discussions and hosting competitions which fund projects to curb the abuse of legal rights within participants’ respective communities.

The Competition winners and previous JusticeMakers Fellows form lasting relationships with hundreds of partner organizations across the globe, including but not limited to; governmental and civil society organizations, universities, and national bar associations.  All of these partnership efforts are aimed toward the creation of a criminal defender community which will raise the profile of criminal defense practices and continually strive for justice reform. In this way, the JusticeMakers Program creates an internationally-linked network of national criminal defense communities committed to the prevention of torture and cruel and unusual punishments.  Sensitizing the community to the prevalence of such issues, coupled with gaining the support of local organizations has created a platform by which major reforms have taken place.

For more information about the JusticeMakers Community and to apply for an ASEAN Youth JusticeMakers Fellowship 2015 visit http://www.justicemakers.ibj.org. For specific questions please send an email to justicemakers@ibj.org.

2015 ASEAN Youth JusticeMakers Competition is sponsored by the National Youth Council of Singapore and apVentures.

 About International Bridges to Justice (IBJ)

In recognition of the fundamental principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Bridges to Justice (IBJ) is dedicated to protecting the basic legal rights of ordinary citizens in developing countries. Specifically, IBJ works to guarantee all citizens the right to competent legal representation, the right to be protected from cruel and unusual punishment, and the right to a fair trial. IBJ currently has programs and projects in over 40 countries in the world, including Burundi, Cambodia, China, India, Rwanda and Zimbabwe.

Press contact:  Email: justicemakers@ibj.org, Telephone: +41 22 731 2441

Yasmeen, who has been involved in improving the juvenile justice system by introducing alternatives to custody, conducting legal aid clinics for children in conflict with the law at prisons and remand centers, became a JusticeMakers Fellow in 2010. Since then, IBJ has been able to support her work in bringing reform to the Criminal Justice System in Malaysia.

Yasmeen, 55, is the principal and managing partner of Yasmeen Hajar & Hairudin. She garnered an overwhelming 150 votes from 189 State Parties present at the meeting.

Yasmeen hails from Kuala Lumpur and has a masters degree in Comparative Law from International Islamic University and Bachelor of Law from United Kingdom’s University of Buckingham. She has a vast experience in Syariah and Civil law.

The 2010 JusticeMakers Fellow is also a trained and certified full-fledged family mediator from the United States University of Florida, has been appointed by the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry as a member of the National Advisory of Consultative Council on Children, National Coordination Council for The Protection of Children since 2006, National Women’s Advisory Council (2001- 2013) and Special Committee on Child Friendly Place of Detention (2010-2012).

The ignition of another JusticeMakers competition naturally sparks excitement. Yet, what is today, rests on foundations that were laid down before. The JusticeMakers 2012 HIV/AIDS Global Competition was built on ideas, intentions, and purposes that stem from the past. Tim Scheu explains how JusticeMakers was thoughtfully crafted to…

…learn
He was right there when JusticeMakers came into being. From 2007 through 2010, Tim worked at IBJ and made a significant impact on the competition’s inception: “To put it lightly, I considered JusticeMakers my baby. When I worked at IBJ, we were eager to give a voice to those out there doing criminal defense work on a local scale. To take a closer look at their conditions, the places they work in, and the solutions they enact to mitigate their environment’s legal challenges. IBJ was looking for a way to assemble the wider community’s best practices, and JusticeMakers was the vehicle designed to identify top-end practitioners.”

Over the years, different people brought in different pieces that, once combined, completed the puzzle. 33 JusticeMakers presented their expertise, and complemented each other’s knowledge. They painted a picture of what criminal justice looks like around the world. “From the strategies that these people use, we learn how to adapt our programs and find the optimum for the work we carry out. It’s a landscape assessment.” 

…advocate
During the time period leading up to JusticeMaker’s creation, legal aid advocates, as well as the pressing situations they faced, were persistently kept hidden in the dark. Those who were desperately trying to establish the rule of law in their communities, alike the myriad of hindrances that were put in their way, went unnoticed. Therefore, the need to demonstrate this as a global phenomenon grew increasingly evident: “JusticeMakers allows IBJ to lift its voice, to make a compelling case for this issue. The program exposes stories that underpin the need for a dramatic change in penitentiary contexts.”

On another level, the competition supports individuals to accomplish the justice they envision. Anyone applying for JusticeMakers not only deserves a second look, but more often the funding required to get their idea off the ground. “IBJ’s CEO Karen Tse has a remarkable impatience for the delivery of justice. She feels a tremendous urgency to deliver legal aid in as many places as possible, now. If Karen learns there is a great idea in say, Nigeria, she is eager to get that funded, now. And so empower the local entrepreneur to contribute in their way, in their context, to the ideal that IBJ represents.”

…and give
International Bridges to Justice believes in transformation of legal communities. And accomplishes reform through education of lawyers, training of police forces, opening up discussions among criminal justice stakeholders, and informing the citizenry of its rights. “The JusticeMakers competition, as an add-on to previously existing IBJ activities, shares tools that enable JusticeMakers fellows to be great local advocates for the kind of work that IBJ is doing. It is a building of partnerships, a facilitating of exchange.”

To begin with, JusticeMakers is a community. A community of individuals seeking to counter misconduct within their local criminal justice system. The malice they oppose occurs in the absence of a qualified attorney; the use of torture as an investigative tool; or the denial of access to a fair trial. Specifically, this year’s edition of the JusticeMakers competition zooms in on those living with HIV/AIDS. It focuses on detainees oppressed by the dual burden of being denied their rights—detainees remain humans and humans have rights—and the stigma and marginalization that often come with HIV/AIDS.

Yet, JusticeMakers is also a competition. And the competitive element is this: International Bridges to Justice, with the help of Levi Strauss Foundation, awards a fellowship of $5000 in seed funding. There are 12 such fellowships, and not only does one win a monetary prize to implement a project, fellows also win the support of IBJ. This support is geared towards their needs and helps them face the challenges of on-the-ground implementation of their project.

But for all of this to happen, work needs to be done. “At this point, we are reaching out to as many potential JusticeMakers as we can,” explains Kate, who is in charge of marketing the initiative. “We operate on multiple levels simultaneously, such as facebook, twitter, and our JusticeMakers website. Anyone can download the JusticeMakers facebook cover photo, post our digital postcards, or use a sample tweet to spread the word. As we rely on local networks, our aim is to enable anyone who wants to help promote.”

Daniel, who administers the applications once they have been received, is visibly busy scanning and reading. “If you want to recruit excellent JusticeMakers fellows, quality control is a vital concern. At this stage, however, we are keeping track of all incoming applications. And we are eager to welcome some more!”

Initially, the JusticeMakers discussed the advantages and drawbacks to publicizing their projects.  Harshi and Junaid stood out for their contrasting experiences. Junaid’s project, the organisation of legal camps for underprivileged communities around Karachi, requires a lot of support from local leaders. One area where training was planned had been rocked by a bomb blast several days before the event was to commence. After the Department of the Environment initially refused his request to train in the district, Junaid used the media to his advantage. By promising—in addition to publicizing the training – to reflect the positive work of the Department in the media, the trainings were given permission to move forward. Junaid’s approach positively reflects IBJ’s methodology. He built bridges with government representatives, a link which should help facilitate future programming.

Harshi, on the other hand, has run into difficulties through her use of newspaper articles that publicize her project. Her project involves serving as lawyer for female pre-trial detainees held at Welikada Prison, but not everyone in Sri Lanka is supportive of Harshi’s desire to give accused criminals competent legal representation. Following a critical newspaper editorial suggesting Harshi supported terrorists through her work, she had to curtail her public profile. Matters were complicated by fears for the safety of a foreign documentary journalist working alongside Harshi. Fortunately, nobody was hurt and the issue raised no long term problems; however it showed that complications can arise by using the media to raise one’s profile. Harshi’s predicament reflected a central aspect of field work: the need to ensure that personal safety comes first in order to guarantee the long-term success of one’s work.

Rasul’s project, the training of Azeri inmates on early release mechanisms, requires significant government interaction as he has to enter prisons to complete the trainings. Unfortunately, Rasul’s initial request to directly tutor prisoners was declined by the Ministry of Penitentiary Services. Rasul is re-submitting his request for access and doing so through the various options presented under Azeri law. Working within the framework of domestic laws—which is the IBJ model—will help secure the viability of Rasul’s project. However, while waiting for the permission to be granted, he has taken on additional projects to ensure that his important work does not stall—namely the establishment of a hotline to advise prisoners’ families of the relatives’ rights to release under the law. After initial low call volume, he was able to directly increase participation by publicizing the hotline in newspapers, magazine and online TV.  Rasul is a good example of a JusticeMaker taking a proactive, multi-faceted approach to tackling an issue – which lends the project a greater chance of succeeding in the long run.

After a spirited discussion, the JusticeMakers agreed that while not all projects required the same degree of press and media support, some publicity was necessary to educate their fellow citizens about the importance of their work.  The benefit—such as government access and increased citizen awareness—outweigh the risk in most, but not all, cases.  The IBJ team agreed that taking risks in order to bring an issue to the attention of a larger audience can be important part of project implementation; however, Sanjeewa stressed the need to put personal safety first, and take appropriate measures in case a threat does arise.

One positive aspect of media coverage is that government agencies may be more likely to want to collaborate with the JusticeMakers, if the conditions are amenable.  Such a scenario is well-reflected by Waqas’ experience. His project—raising legal awareness for brick kiln workers in Kasur—had initial difficulties engaging government officials, who discouraged his work when he met with them. Their initial suspicion could be ascribed to the historically close ties between landowners and regional officials.  However, through perseverance and positive press coverage, Waqas’ work gained an elevated profile, which resulted in access to prison officials, such as the Kasur Jail superintendent. The superintendent facilitated a meeting between Waqas and the Social Welfare Department, who have subsequently expressed interest in signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Waqas’ organisation.  The incremental steps Waqas took have aided the ultimate success of his program. Through developing relationships with the prison officials and Social Welfare department, his project will have more enduring impact as trust is built over time.

In comparison to other JusticeMakers’ experiences, government employees in India did not need media motivation to support Bijaya’s work. Due to extreme overcrowding in Kolkata sub-jails (a subsection of India’s prison system for pre-trial detainees), prison officials were more than happy to welcome her program: teaching pre-trial detainees how to navigate the legal system. Even with the officials’ support, however, Bijaya still faces difficulties with the bureaucracy of acquiring identity badges, which are required to enter the jails. To overcome this problem, Bijaya is working with influential lawyers and Kolkata’s bar association to receive the badges. Through the bar association, Bijaya has also found 15 lawyers who committed themselves to representing pre-trial detainees pro-bono. This model reflects IBJ’s approach of fostering partnerships with various organisations, in a bid to bring access to justice for the underprivileged.

The JusticeMakers’ took comfort from each other that the inefficiencies and difficulties they faced in project execution seemed universal, and everyone complained about the slow pace of justice in the many parts of the world. However Sanjeewa counselled that perseverance was necessary, and that they should continue to look for support from IBJ offices and fellow Justicemakers in making their visions a reality.

International Bridges to Justice is excited to open a new chapter in the JusticeMakers program with the launch of a new JusticeMakers site at justicemakers.ibj.org. The new site will foster the growth of the JusticeMakers online community, allowing for intuitive sharing of  best practices in the field of criminal justice, connecting passionate members of the criminal defense community, facilitating discussions, and hosting competitions that seed the most innovative proposals that seek to curb torture and legal abuse.

New features:

• Ability to friend other users!
• Ability to create public and private groups!
• Group forum discussions!
• Increased privacy control on profile settings!

Have questions? Contact us at justicemakers@ibj.org