“Solicitors play a vital role in the administration of justice and any threat to them is an attack on the legal rights of every person,” said a Law Society spokesperson.
Over the weekend, an anonymous X account, which has repeatedly posted about lawyers representing those seeking asylum, shared a spreadsheet of firms involved in asylum cases.
It would review them more deeply in the coming weeks, one post said.
What exactly that means is unclear. But negative posts targeting those who represent people seeking asylum in Ireland have been ramping up, say lawyers working in the sector.
Targeting of immigration lawyers is becoming normalised elsewhere, too.
Last year, the Metropolitan Police warned these lawyers to “take extra security measures or stay away from work amid far-right threats to target their firms”, according to the Guardian.
Here, the Law Society of Ireland says it stands firmly behind all lawyers who are the target of efforts to intimidate, threaten or incite attacks on them just for doing their jobs, a spokesperson said.
Those behind it must be held accountable, they said. “Solicitors play a vital role in the administration of justice and any threat to them is an attack on the legal rights of every person,” said the Law Society spokesperson.
Everybody deserves to turn to a lawyer in search of justice, no matter who they are or where they’re from, they said.
“Access to justice is a basic entitlement of every person in this country,” they said.
Ireland: Smears and threats against lawyers representing people seeking asylum ramp up
