January 24, 2025 Statement of the American Bar Association Re: Day of the Endangered Lawyer

CHICAGO, Jan. 24, 2025 – Today is the Day of the Endangered Lawyer.  Its purpose is to call attention to threatened human rights lawyers who work to advance the rule of law and promote human rights under governmental harassment and intimidation, often at great personal risk.  Each year the focus is on those lawyers working in one designated country.

In 2025, the Day of the Endangered Lawyer spotlights the persecution of lawyers in Belarus. Since 2020, a crackdown by the Belarus government has resulted in the targeting of lawyers and human rights defenders. Legal practitioners face increasing criminal sanctions, arbitrary detention and systemic interference in their abilities to practice law. Constitutional and legislative changes have eroded the independence of the judiciary and professional legal bodies and given the executive branch unwarranted control over the judiciary and legal profession.

Today, the ABA recognizes these human rights lawyers who champion justice and fight for the rule of law.