Although being prosecuted in Rwanda as a "Genocide Denier," Peter Erlinder is a defender of human rights who has explicitly recognized the horrible massacres and widespread killing in Rwanda. The article below explains how the use of the law in Rwanda against Erlinder fits with a pattern of suppression of debate and political opposition by the Kagame government: 

Yet to properly understand the context of the Genocide Ideology Law, it is also important to understand the significance of the so-called "campaign against genocide ideology" that has recently been launched in Rwanda. Reports of authoritative media and human rights non-governmental organisations indicate that the legacy of genocide is being manipulated by the Rwandan government to suppress political dissent and opposition in a range of ways. Most significantly, this has been done through cases involving the crime of genocide ideology. According to available information, about 1,300 such cases were initiated in the Rwandan courts in the 2007-2008 judicial year, even before it was defined by the Genocide Ideology Law itself.11 Rwandan authorities have used prosecution, or the threat of prosecution under the law to trample opposition, including calls for justice for war crimes committed by the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). A range of Rwandan and foreign individuals and media organisations have been denounced as actual or potential violators of the Genocide Ideology Law.12 Most notoriously the BBC's local language radio service was suspended in the country following the station's feature of its weekly of a programme that was to include a debate on forgiveness among Rwandans after the genocide.13 Moreover, teachers and pupils at schools have been directly warned by prominent political figures that children "found guilty of harbouring the genocide ideology [can] be denied admission in any school in the country . [and] also be prosecuted in the courts of law when he or she turns the prescribed age".14 Such reliance on the Genocide Ideology Law in itself has had a chilling effect on freedom of expression, from political to juvenile speech. Furthermore, this Law comes in the context of a broader crackdown on the media organizations. Individual journalists are being imprisoned without any legitimate cause15 and media organisations have been targeted with suspension for activities such as comparing the current government to that which was in power in the run-up to the genocide in 1994.Full text at: http://www.article19.org/pdfs/analysis/rwanda-comment-on-the-law-relatin...By Article IXX, Global Campaign for Free Expression

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jun/08/rwanda-tribunal-peter-erlind...

http://www.saltlaw.org/userfiles/file/SALT%20PDF%20Documents%20/6-2-10_ErlinderLetter-SenatorKlobuchar.pdf

June 7, 2010

His Excellency
James Kimonyo
Ambassador of Rwanda

1714 New Hampshire NW
Washington, DC  20009

Dear Ambassador Kimonyo:

We are deans of American law schools. As legal educators, we believe we have an obligation to nurture in our students the core values of the legal profession. These core values are threatened by the arrest in Rwanda of William Mitchell College of Law Professor Peter Erlinder. We are writing to respectfully request your assistance in ensuring his safety and release.

The U.N. Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers state that lawyers “shall not be identified with their clients or their clients’ causes as a result of discharging their functions” and that “governments shall ensure that lawyers are able to perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference.” These principles also provide that “lawyers like other citizens are entitled to freedom of expression, belief, association and assembly.”

As you know, Prof. Erlinder was in Kigali to pursue a legal defense for Madame Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza. We believe that he has been arrested, interrogated, and imprisoned unjustly and for simply doing the work of the lawyer: advocating on behalf of his client.

Ambassador Kimonyo, we respectfully urge the government of Rwanda to abide by these principles, to refrain from harassment of lawyers practicing law consistent with their professional obligations, and to release Prof. Erlinder forthwith.

Very truly yours,

(Affiliations are listed for identification only and do not represent institutional endorsement.)

R. Alexander Acosta, Florida International University

William E. Adams, Jr., Western State University College of Law

John B. Attanasio, Dedman School of Law Southern Methodist University

Martin H. Belsky, University of Akron School of Law

Paul Schiff Berman, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University.

Douglas Blaze, University of Tennessee College of Law

Jeff Brand, University of San Francisco School of Law

David A. Brennen, University of Kentucky College of Law

Shelley Broderick, University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law

Doris DelTosto Brogan, Villanova University School of Law

Penelope Bryan, Whittier Law School

Judge John L. Carroll, Cumberland School of Law, Samford University

James Ming Chen, University of Louisville

Annette E. Clark, Seattle University School of Law

Jay Conison, Valparaiso University School of Law

John Corkery, The John Marshall Law School

George Critchlow, Gonzaga University School of Law

Mary A. Crossley, University of Pittsburgh School of Law

Marianne B. Culhane, Creighton Univ. School of Law

Kenneth B. Davis, Jr., University of Wisconsin Law School

Samuel M. Davis, University of Mississippi School of Law

Nora V. Demleitner, Hofstra University School of Law

R. Lawrence Dessem, University of Missouri School of Law

Matthew Diller, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law

John M. A. DiPippa, University of Arkansas at Little Rock

Allen Easley, University of LaVerne College of Law

JoAnne A. Epps, Temple University Beasley School of Law

John J. Farmer, Jr., Rutgers School of Law | Newark

Daisy H. Floyd, Mercer University School of Law

Alfredo Garcia, St. Thomas University School of Law

Bryant G. Garth, Southwestern Law School

Arthur R. Gaudio, Western New England College School of Law

Victor J. Gold, Loyola Law School

Peter Goplerud, Florida Coastal School of Law

Ken Gormley, Duquesne University School of Law

Stephen M. Griffin, Tulane Law School

Claudio Grossman, American University, Washington College of Law

Donald J. Guter, South Texas College of Law

Jack A. Guttenberg, Capital University Law School

Phoebe A. Haddon, University of Maryland School of Law

Lawrence K. Hellman, Oklahoma City University

Dennis R. Honabach, Chase College of Law, Northern Kentucky University

Scott W. Howe, Chapman University School of Law

Eric S. Janus, William Mitchell College of Law

Robert H. Jerry, II, Levin College of Law, University of Florida

George R. Johnson, Jr., Elon University School of Law

Bernard V. Keenan, Suffolk University Law School

Robert Klonoff, Lewis & Clark Law School

Don LeDuc, Thomas M. Cooley Law School

Donald M. Lewis, Hamline University School of Law

David A. Logan, Roger Williams University School of Law

Richard A. Matasar, New York Law School

Philip J. McConnaughay, Penn State The Dickinson School of Law

Joyce E. McConnell, West Virginia University College of Law

Thomas M. Mengler, University of St. Thomas School of Law

Veryl Miles, Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law

Blake D. Morant, Wake Forest University School of Law

Charles I. Nelson, Faulkner University, Jones School of Law

John O’Brien, New England Law | Boston

Maureen A. O’Rourke, Boston University School of Law

Jeremy Paul, University of Connecticut School of Law

Raymond C. Pierce, North Carolina Central University School of Law

Freddie Pitcher, Jr., Southern University Law Center

Peter Pitegoff, University of Maine School of Law

Lawrence Raful, Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center

Drucilla S. Ramey, Golden Gate University, School of Law

Robert H. Rawson, Case Western Reserve University School of Law

Douglas E Ray, University of Toledo College of Law

Richard L. Revesz, New York University School of Law

Jim Rosenblatt, Mississippi College School of Law

Irma Russell, University of Montana School of Law

Lawrence Sager, University of Texas at Austin School of Law

Brad Saxton, Quinnipiac University School of Law

Kurt L. Schmoke, Howard University School of Law

Lloyd Semple, University of Detroit Mercy School of law

Michelle S. Simon, Pace Law School

Steven R. Smith, California Western School of Law | San Diego

Rodney A. Smolla, Washington and Lee University School of Law

Rayman L. Solomon, Rutgers University School of Law – Camden

Mathew D. Staver, Liberty University School of Law
Athornia Steele, Nova Southeastern University

Dennis Stone, Charlotte School of Law

Ellen Y. Suni, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law

Kellye Y. Testy, University of Washington School of Law

William M. Treanor, Fordham Law School

Kevin Washburn, University of New Mexico School of Law

John Valery White, William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Patricia D. White, University of Miami School of Law

Rebecca H. White, University of Georgia, School of Law

David Yellen, Loyola University Chicago School of Law

Vigorous Legal Advocate Arrested in Rwanda

May 28, 2010

New York—The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) demands the immediate release of its former president, Professor Peter Erlinder, whom Rwandan Police arrested early today on charges of “genocide ideology.” He had traveled to Rwanda's capital, Kigali, on May 23, to join the defense team of Rwandan presidential candidate Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza. Erlinder is reportedly being interrogated at the Rwandan Police Force’s Kacyiru headquarters.

“Professor Erlinder has been acting in the best tradition of the legal profession and has been a vigorous advocate in his representation of Umuhoza. There can be no justice for anyone if the state can silence lawyers for defendants whom it dislikes and a government that seeks to prevent lawyers from being vigorous advocates for their clients cannot be trusted. The entire National Lawyers Guild is honored by his membership and his courageous advocacy,” said David Gespass, the Guild’s president.

Erlinder traveled to Kigali after attending the Second International Criminal Defense Lawyers' Conference in Brussels. Since his arrival in Kigali, the state-sponsored Rwandan media has been highly critical of Erlinder.

The Rwandan Parliament adopted the “Law Relating to the Punishment of the Crime of Genocide Ideology” (Genocide Ideology Law), on July 23, 2008. It defines genocide ideology broadly, requires no link to any genocidal act, and can be used to include a wide range of legitimate forms of expression, prohibiting speech protected by international conventions such as the Genocide Convention of 1948 and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966.

Sarah Erlinder, Arizona attorney and NLG member said, “My father has made a career defending unpopular people and unpopular speech—and is now being held because of his representation of unpopular clients and analysis of an historical narrative that the Kagame regime considers inconvenient. We can help defend his rights now by drawing U.S. government and media attention to his situation and holding the Rwandan government accountable for his well-being.”

Before leaving for Brussels and then Kigali, Professor Erlinder notified the U.S. State Department, his Minnesota Congressional Representative Betty McCullom, Representative Keith Ellison, and Minnesota Senators Al Franken and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar.

Professor Erlinder is a professor of law at the William Mitchell College of Law. He is a frequent litigator and consultant, often pro bono, in cases involving the death penalty, civil rights, claims of government and police misconduct, and criminal defense of political activists. He is also a frequent news commentator. Erlinder was president of the National Lawyers Guild from 1993-1997, and is a current board member of the NLG Foundation. He has been a defense attorney at the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda since 2003.

The National Lawyers Guild, founded in 1937, is the oldest and largest public interest/human rights bar organization in the United States. Its headquarters are in New York and it has chapters in every state.

# # #

Call and demand the immediate release of Professor Peter Erlinder:

Senator Al Franken

(202) 224-5641

Or send an email at http://franken.senate.gov/contact/

Senator Amy Klobuchar

202-224-3244

Fax: 202-228-2186

Or send an email at http://klobuchar.senate.gov/emailamy.cfm?contactForm=emailamy&submit=Go

Representative Keith Ellison

202-225-4755

Or send an email at http://forms.house.gov/ellison/webforms/issue_subscribe.htm

Representative Betty McCullom

(202) 225-6631

Fax: (202) 225-1968

Or send an email at http://forms.house.gov/mccollum/webforms/issue_subscribe.htm

National Lawyers Guild, MN Presents:

CLE: Serving Transgender Clients in Minnesota

Please join the Minnesota Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild for a moderated panel presentation to examine barriers to access of legal services for transgender community members. We will discuss best practices and a skills-based approach to improving legal services for transgender clients in Minnesota. The panel will feature attorney, paralegal, and law student perspectives and case studies about serving transgender clients.

Wednesday, April 28th, 7-8pm

followed by a reception with the Minnesota Lavender Bar Association

Hamline University School of Law, Moot Court Room

1536 Hewitt Ave St. Paul, MN 55104

To pre-register

email Micah Ludeke at Mludeke01@Hamlineuniversity.edu

Please write “CLE PRE-REGISTRATION” in the subject line

Co-Sponsored by

Hamline University School of Law

Minnesota Lavender Bar Association

Hamline Stonewall Association

One hour of Eliminating Bias credit has been applied for

See attached pdf for know your rights training manual for transgendered community in criminal law.

For additional resources check out link to San Francisco chapter. http://www.nlgsf.org/resources/

Greetings.

NLG-MN is pleased to announce the initial plans for our yearly Social Justice Dinner.   It will be held on Saturday April 17th 2010 from 6pm and 10pm at William Mitchell College of Law.

This year we will be honoring the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Coalition (MIRAc) and Mujeres en Liderazgo (Women in Leadership) with the Social Justice award and Ted Dooley with the Paul Marino People's Lawyering Award.  Our keynote speaker will be Indigenous rights activist and scholar Waziyatawin.

Ticket prices will be $55 for a regular ticket, $20 for a student/lower income ticket, an 8 seat table for $375.

•For information and reservations in Spanish and English, call (612) 436-3664•

Our social justice dinner is always a great time to catch up with social justice activists, legal workers, law students and lawyers who have been fighting the good fight over the past year. 

See attached file for ad rates to place an ad in our dinner journal congratulating our awardees.  Act fast deadline is March 27th for ads.  

Hope to see you there! 

Our next membership meeting will be Weds. March 10th at 7pm at Hamline University Law school.  We will be discussing immigration enforcement under Obama.

NLG-MN chapter congratulates our member Micah Ludeke for winning the C.B. King award at this year's National Convention in Seattle.  According to the call for nominations "Each year at the National Lawyers Guild National Convention, the CB King Award is given to a law student whose commitment to the struggle for justice is an example to others."   Micah won the award for his activism during the RNC last September, volunteering with the Minnesota Civil Justice Center and interning with the San Francisco Chapter this summer.  He is currently active with the Infrastructure Committee and the Hamline Law school chapter.