Clinic Bulletin - March-April, 2008

Dear Clinic members and friends,

Please find below the LCRI update bulletin for March and April.

These have been eventful months!

With regards,

Themba Lewis

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March 2008

The LCRI is pleased to celebrate the release, after nearly four years in detention, of a Cuban immigrant from the Busmanci immigration detention center. This case highlights the overdue need for Bulgaria to recognize its obligation to protect human freedoms and join its European counterparts in placing limitations on the duration of administrative detention. Such a case demands reflection from all of us, and demonstrates the necessity for change. Change needs to manifest in many ways, and the LCRI is pleased this month to have made progress in drawing the attention of the wider European community to rights abuses facing immigrants, refugees, and asylum-seekers Bulgaria.

LCRI lawyer Valeria Ilareva, accompanied by Dr. Maria-Teresa Gil-Bazo, was granted a meeting with the European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs in Brussels. The meeting was hosted by the Chair of the Committee and was attended by a number of other interested parties, providing an unprecedented opportunity for the LCRI to present the Bulgarian case to members of the European Parliament. Meanwhile, our case before the European Court of Human Rights progresses, drawing increasing interest and concern. The case challenges the extended solitary confinement (over 10 months in duration) of a Chechen torture survivor detained at the Busmanci center. The Court applied Rule 40 of the Rules of the Court, designating the case as urgent and informing relevant parties of the lodging of the application and the objections raised. While the case has a long way to go, on April 2, 2008 the detention authorities ended the solitary confinement of our client.

In Sofia, LCRI lawyer Diana Daskalova and coordinating member Nezabravka Vazelova participated in the round table discussion, "Immigration in between Human Rights and Security Issues" coordinated by the Manfred Worner Foundation. Also in March, LCRI lawyer Diana Daskalova received confirmation that she had been selected as one of only 60 nominees to participate in the Transatlantic Forum for Young Professionals in Migration and Integration organized by the German Marshall Fund to take place at Castle Pommersfelden near Nuremberg, Germany, from July 9-13, 2008.

Finally, all of us at the Clinic would like to thank the International Women's Club of Sofia for making possible the participation of four Clinic members in the upcoming International Moot Court Competition in Brno, Czech Republic! This is a fabulous development and we are thrilled to be able to take part in it. THANK YOU, IWC!

April 2008

The LCRI teams have returned from the International Moot Court Competition in Brno, Czech Republic with rankings of First Place and Third Place! Needless to say, we are very proud of our teams and they worked very hard for their achievement. The competition was a lot of fun and we are grateful to the International Women's Club of Sofia for making it possible for us.

Meanwhile, in Sofia, the LCRI is settling into a new office located just minutes from Orlov Most. While we still hope to return to the University for many reasons, the new space offers some valuable aspects, such as a private meeting room, all-hours accessibility, and a very central location.

The European Court of Human Rights case continues to develop, and has been gaining significant international attention. On April 18th Amnesty International issued a global 'Urgent Action' campaign on behalf of our client, and followed this with a strong open letter of concern. Only ten days previous, the European Parliament sent a similar letter of concern to the Chairman of the Committee on Human Rights and Religious Affairs of the Bulgarian Parliament. While these developments are significant, the Migration Directorate is only directly accountable to its Bulgarian supervision, and there has been no substantive change to the conditions facing our client or others in administrative detention in Bulgaria. These are urgent cases and they demand greater public attention and legislative reform. All people deserve justice, qualified representation, and the realization of their rights!