The London Guantánamo Campaign [1] will host Dennis Edney QC [2] from 12-20 March 2014 for a speaking tour. The Scottish-Canadian lawyer will be raising awareness about his client, former Guantánamo child prisoner Omar Khadr [3], who remains incarcerated in Canada.
The speaking tour [4] which includes 10 engagements in
London and York, at universities and with organisations such as Amnesty
International, will raise awareness of the various legal issues surrounding
Khadr’s case.
Aisha Maniar, a spokesperson for the London
Guantánamo Campaign, says, "Omar Khadr’s case demonstrates the flagrant
violations of international law committed at Guantánamo Bay by the US and its
allies, including Canada. His ordeal did not end upon release in September
2012. As we see now in the UK, stigmatisation through having been held at
Guantánamo can lead to further persecution and harassment.
“The purpose of this tour is to raise awareness of Omar
Khadr’s ongoing persecution in Canada, which is a member of the Commonwealth.
It is also to demonstrate the support of the British public for Omar Khadr, his
lawyer Dennis Edney and the advocacy he does in difficult circumstances, and
ultimately the rule of law.”
Dennis Edney QC will be available for interviews.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. The London Guantánamo Campaign was set up in 2006 and
campaigns for justice for all prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, for the closure of
this and other secret prisons, and an end to the practice of extraordinary
rendition. http://londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.com
2. Born in Scotland, Dennis Edney graduated in law in 1987
from the University of Northumberland. He practices in the areas of
constitutional and criminal law. In 2004, he was appointed foreign counsel for
Omar Khadr’s military commission hearing. He has acted as counsel in a number
of key cases before both the Supreme Court of Canada and the United States
Supreme Court. In 2013, he was awarded the prestigious Gerald Galt Human Rights
award by the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights. He was appointed
Queen’s Counsel in 2011. He has lectured extensively on human rights.
3. For more information about Omar Khadr, please see http://freeomarakhadr.com/factsheet/
4. Full details of events held with the Haldane Society
of Socialist Lawyers, the Campaign against Criminalising Communities, Veterans
for Peace UK, Amnesty International UK and at University College London,
University of Westminster, Birkbeck College, the London School of Economics, Queen
Mary’s University of London and the University of York are available at http://londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/12-18-march-2014-lgc-speaking-tour-with.html
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