GLOBAL PERSECUTIONS: legal groups protest and issue appeals over treatment of lawyers

There has been no let-up in the persecution of human rights lawyers around the world as they become increasingly identified with their work for terrorist suspects, it emerged this week.

International human rights organisations warned that last year's unprecedented level of cases of lawyers under threat has not reduced, while new countries such as Belize appear to be persecuting lawyers representing people accused of security or terrorism offences.

In recent weeks, special appeals have gone out from human rights and legal groups in protest at the treatment of lawyers in countries such as Colombia, Lebanon, Belize, Mexico, Bolivia, Turkey, China, the Sudan, Guatemala, Indonesia, Nepal and the Kyrgyz Republic.

Jonathan O'Donoghue, who co-ordinates Amnesty's international lawyers network, said: 'There are countries in the world where security and anti-terrorism legislation are being imposed and lawyers representing people accused of these crimes are increasingly being associated with their cases.'

Across the world, there have been reports of lawyers being arrested, tortured, threatened and intimidated.

In Mexico last month, Griselda Tirado Evangelio, a defender of indigenous communities in the country, was murdered.

A spokeswoman for the International Bar Association's human rights institute said: 'The level of [complaints] is about the same as last year but we have one or two new countries as well.

We have written to Belize, which we have never done before.'

In Belize, human rights lawyer Antoinette Moore and her husband have been arrested for drug trafficking.

Ms Moore regularly works on police brutality cases and had been subject to harassment in the past.

Law Society head of international Alison Hook added: 'The number of cases is the same this year but there are one or two countries that seem to be getting worse.'

Lawyers as a profession have enjoyed protected status from the United Nations since 1990.

Chris Baker