ISLP scored a first when its Media Law Working Group wrote and filed an amicus curiae brief in a Palestinian court trying a blogger whose Facebook post angered politicians.
Issa Amro wrote asking that unnamed public officials be brought to justice for having ordered police to open fire on peaceful protestors. He was criminally charged with disturbing public order, hate speech, and insult, and faces prison for several years. His Palestinian defense counsel asked international NGOs for legal assistance, and ISLP responded.
Our amicus brief cited authorities in the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), France, Egypt and elsewhere in the Arab world. We translated the brief into Arabic. Local defense counsel described our brief as “so so great” and of “such high quality” that it would help them in both Amro’s case and others.
Among the pro bono volunteers who worked on the brief were Steven Wood (McCarter & English), Katie Barlow, Eva Kurban and Weisiyu Jiang (all Clifford Chance), and Dick Winfield (ex-Clifford Chance, chair of the ISLP media group).