On 3 September 2025, The Rights Practice, and seven other organisations -- Lawyers for Lawyers, the Law Society of England and Wales, the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe, Asian Lawyers Network, Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada, and the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales -- issued a joint statement to express their grave concern over the disciplinary proceedings and subsequent disbarment of Hong Kong solicitor Kevin Yam.

Imposing the most severe disciplinary sanction on a lawyer, this is the first known case since the enactment of the Hong Kong National Security Law in which a lawyer has been disbarred for publicly commenting on judicial independence and human rights violations in Hong Kong. Kevin Yam is a Hong Kong-qualified solicitor and rule of law advocate with a long-standing record in both private practice and civil society. Now based in Australia, he has continued to speak publicly on the erosion of judicial independence and human rights in Hong Kong, particularly since the imposition of the National Security Law, and has faced escalating transnational repression and restrictions.

We call for immediate and coordinated responses from both domestic authorities and international actors and stand in full solidarity with Kevin Yam and all other legal professionals who defend the rule of law, speak out against injustice, and uphold human rights in the face of repression.

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