International Bridges to Justice

----------------------- ----------------------- CREATE A FUNDRAISING PAGE FOR IBJ BY CLICKING THE "CREATE A FUNDRAISER FOR THIS NONPROFIT" AT THE BOTTOM OF THE COLUMN ON THE RIGHT ---> 1. Make a personal appeal for saying you think the work of IBJ and/or Karen Tse is so important. * Do you know Karen? Give others your take on her vision and persistence, and why they should support her efforts! * Do you understand the dynamics of criminal justice? Reflect upon your personal experience to explain why trained legal counsel is so critical. 2. Add a bit of background information about IBJ by copying and pasting the information below into your page. 3. Promote your page among your friends via email, Facebook, or other online networks. 100% OF DONATIONS MADE THROUGH RAZOO GO DIRECTLY TO IBJ!!! Many thanks for your help. (Email Tim Scheu at tscheu@ibj.org if you have questions.) ----------------------- ----------------------- WHAT WE DO In many developing countries, greater than 60% of people detained in prisons are awaiting trial. Not even convicted, these individuals sit in legal purgatory indefinitely, without access to family, medical assistance, legal counsel, or expected dates of trial – while investigators use coercive methods of interrogation, including arbitrary detention and even torture. IBJ seeks to help these vulnerable individuals, particularly women and children, whose situation is particularly dire - often imprisoned with men, and too often the victims of rape and battery. IBJ examines jail records to find vulnerable clients lost within the legal system. Our public defenders investigate each case, motion for bail, lobby judges to expedite clients’ trial dates, and provide high quality counsel throughout the trial. Over the course of a year, IBJ will secure legal protection and fair trials for hundreds of men, women and children who are currently facing indefinite detention - lost within their country's criminal justice system. "For the first time in history, we have a roadmap for the systematic prevention and abolition of torture. Please join us and help make this dream a reality." - Karen I. Tse, Founder and CEO, International Bridges to Justice ----------------------- ----------------------- ABOUT INTERNATIONAL BRIDGES TO JUSTICE IBJ (http://www.ibj.org) is a nonprofit organization founded in 2000 with a vision to end torture in the 21st century through the application of local laws prohibiting torture and providing for fair trials and procedures. IBJ’s experience has shown that the provision of legal counsel at the earliest stages of defense can significantly reduce instances of torture. Thus, IBJ works with the public defender, or legal aid lawyer, as the critical connection for the legal transformation of its sponsored countries. Since its inception, IBJ has pioneered this practical approach to preventing torture and now has programs in sixteen countries throughout Asia, Africa and Latin America – 11 of which were launched in 2008 through IBJ’s JusticeMakers Program (http://www.justicemakers.net). ----------------------- ----------------------- ABOUT KAREN I. TSE, IBJ FOUNDER AND CEO A former public defender in San Francisco, Karen first developed her interest in the intersection of criminal law and human rights as a Thomas J. Watson fellow in 1986 after observing Southeast Asian refugees detained in a local prison without trial. She later worked in Cambodia in 1994 to train the country’s first core group of public defenders and subsequently served as a United Nations Judicial Mentor. Under the auspices of the U.N, she trained judges, prosecutors and established the first arraignment court in Cambodia. After witnessing numerous violations of the rights of citizens, Karen founded International Bridges to Justice in 2000 to promote systematic global change in the administration of criminal justice. She has since negotiated and implemented groundbreaking measures in judicial reform with the Chinese, Vietnamese and Cambodian governments. Under her leadership, IBJ has expanded its programming to Rwanda, Burundi, Zimbabwe and India, and is now working to through www.justicemakers.net to create a Global Public Defender Support Program that will bring IBJ assistance to public defenders worldwide. Karen is a graduate of UCLA Law School and Harvard Divinity School. She is the recipient of numerous awards: * 2009 International Activist Award from the Gleitsman Program for Leadership in Social Change at the Harvard Kennedy School * 2008 American Bar Association International Human Rights Award * 2008 Harvard Divinity School First Decade Award * Ashoka Fellow * Skoll Fellow * Echoing Green Fellow * One of “America’s Best Leaders” - US News & World Report