This appeal case illustrates the risks that women human rights defenders are constantly facing as they carry out their legitimate work. Ghada Jamsheer is the Director of the Women’s Petition Committee, a group that is concerned with the reform of the personal status courts. She was charged in April 2005 with “insulting the judiciary”, a charge subsequently dropped, and faces other charges of defamation and slander. Amnesty International demands that governments fulfil their obligations to respect, protect and fulfil human rights include securing the space of those women defending human rights.
