All news items
12 August 2009
(News)
Cynthia, who fled the Democratic Republic of Congo to find safety in this country a year ago, says: "I don't want to live in South Africa too long; I am so scared for my little boy." She arrived in June when the countrywide xenophobia attacks had ended, but says even today she is scared to speak to her child when he cries in a taxi, because he only understands French and she has been...
28 July 2009
(Press release)
Lawyers for Human Rights has been actively monitoring the situation in Balfour and is gravely concerned by the indiscriminate violence which occurred last week in that community. Foreign nationals were particularly targeted by some members of the community. LHR has, however, also learned of widespread violence by police against protesters as well as against community members not involved in the...
16 July 2009
(Press release)
The South Gauteng High Court today ruled that the deportation of an asylum seeker by the Department of Home Affairs was unlawful, unconstitutional, and invalid, and ordered the Department to pay for and facilitate his return to South Africa. The asylum seeker, whose name has been withheld for security reasons, was unlawfully deported on 10 May, 2009—two days before he was to appear in court to...
13 July 2009
(News)
Destitute people who were arrested while sleeping outside the Methodist Church in central Joburg a week ago say police beat them, insulted them, gave them electric shocks and stole their belongings.
Joburg metro police and SAPS members arrested 358 homeless people, mostly Zimbabweans, late at night on July 3. They were due to appear in court last Monday on charges of loitering, but were released...
13 July 2009
(News)
South African non-governmental organisations are on a collision course with government after the decision of the African Union not to co-operate with the International Criminal Court over the arrest of Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir.The organisations - including the Centre for Applied Legal Studies, the International Centre for Transitional Justice, the Khulumani Support Group and Lawyers for...
10 July 2009
(Press release)
The residents of the Mamelodi Hostels will be marching on the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Saturday, 11 July 2009.
The hostels, which accommodate roughly 10 000 people were built by the apartheid government to provide housing to the mostly male migrant workers. The residents living in these hostels have done so for many years and form a distinct community with strong social ties.
In terms...
9 July 2009
(News)
The ideal candidate is a self-motivated attorney with an interest in constitutional and human rights law. Good writing and research skills are essential. High Court litigation experience would be an advantage.
Full terms of reference will be made available on application. Please send applications to Kaajal Ramjathan-Keogh on Kaajal [at] lhr [dot] org [dot] za (...
6 July 2009
(Press release)
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) and the AIDS Law Project (ALP) today welcomed a decision by the State Prosecutor at the Johannesburg Magistrates Court to withdraw charges of loitering against over 350 homeless people who were arrested on Friday night in the vicinity of the Central Methodist Church.The majority of those who were arrested are Zimbabwean refugees,...
5 July 2009
(Press release)
We welcome the invitation by Community Safety MEC, Khabisi Mosunkutu, to discuss our concerns regarding the arrest of hundreds of destitute people for sleeping outside the Central Methodist Church and in the streets of Johannesburg shortly before midnight on Friday. We will be seeking a meeting with the MEC and other relevant officials in the coming days.At present, almost all of those arrested...
5 July 2009
(News)
South African human rights organisations on Saturday condemned the arrest of about 300 destitute Zimbabwean nationals. "We have been informed by the SAPS (South African Police Service) that the purpose of the raid was to clear the streets and enforce municipal bylaws," the Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Resources Centre said in a joint statement. "Large numbers of SAPS and...