Beyza Binnur Donmez
07 March 2025•Update: 07 March 2025
GENEVA
A UN special rapporteur on Friday criticized the recent actions of US President Donald Trump's administration to remove and reassign justice officials, voicing concern that these attacks "are part of an ongoing pattern of harassment."
"Since the new administration took office on 20 January 2025, a significant number of lawyers, prosecutors and immigration judges have been reassigned, transferred or dismissed without following standard procedures," Margaret Satterthwaite, the UN special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, said in a statement.
The affected lawyers include many prosecutors at the US Department of Justice (DOJ) who were fired after reportedly working on criminal investigations of Trump or prosecutions stemming from the attack on the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Satterthwaite said.
"Since these firings, a number of DOJ prosecutors have resigned rather than taking what they consider to be inappropriate action in other cases," she said. "These actions come amid public statements by government officials and others characterising judges, prosecutors and law enforcement officials as weapons of the previous administration."
Additionally, the recent establishment of a "Weaponization Working Group" by the US attorney general, tasked with reviewing the activities of civil and criminal enforcement agencies from the past four years, has raised alarm that these removals may be just "the beginning of a course of conduct aimed at removing these professionals and replacing them with individuals loyal to the new administration," she said.
"I am deeply concerned that these attacks are part of an ongoing pattern of harassment of independent justice professionals," the expert said. "Independent justice personnel are a necessity for the rule of law and separation of powers."
She also recalled the recent impeachment articles filed by Congress against three federal judges, seemingly in retaliation for their rulings against the government. She also mentioned the removal of senior judge advocates general from the US Army, Navy, and Air Force, despite their crucial role in ensuring military actions comply with the law, including international humanitarian law.
"The US government must stop its interference and ensure that justice, not politics, is allowed to prevail," she urged.
