As retired US judges, we’re not used to speaking out. But we cannot be silent | Michael P Donnelly and Robert F Orr

We joined a recent bus tour of 30 judges, lawyers and advocates fighting not for any partisan aim, but for the rule of law itself

Last October, US lawyers, judges and rule-of-law advocates traveled to Warsaw as guests of the Carter Center. Neither of us was among them. But when our colleagues returned, their stories inspired us.

They told us about judges and lawyers across central Europe who had been surveilled, smeared, prosecuted and sometimes jailed for standing between political power and courts meant to remain independent.