This handbook is designed as a resource to enable trial observers to accurately report on trial proceedings and to contribute to the protection of human rights defenders facing prosecution by highlighting injustice and the lack of due process. The presence of trial observers sends out a clear message that the right to a fair trial in which all the evidence can be heard and examined without prejudice is a fundamental human right. It is largely based on the excellent work by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) in its Trial Observation Manual for Criminal Proceedings and is an attempt to summarise and adapt it in a more compact form that can be more readily distributed and used by human rights defenders.
