Ep 131: The Fight for Palestinian Prisoners – with Sahar Francis

What happens when citizenship can be taken away? Why are immigration detainees still struggling to access quality legal advice? And has legal aid been 'strangled by reform'? Host Sarah Henry sits down with Dr Ayesha Riaz to discuss her fascinating research on citizenship deprivation, immigration detention and the long decline of legal aid. Drawing on years of practice and academic research, Ayesha examines the consequences of government policy for lawyers, migrants and access to justice across the UK.   About Ayesha Riaz Ayesha has been working at the University of Greenwich since 2019. She worked as a part time teacher and taught undergraduate students law at the London School of Economics and Political Science for several years. She also worked as a visiting lecturer at the University of East London.   Ayesha completed her PhD from Queen Mary University of London on 30 November 2025. As part of the PhD, she investigated the relationship between the British State and solicitors that assist asylum seekers in the UK from 1949 to 2024. Ayesha's interest in this area emanated from her professional experience. She previously worked at the largest legal aid firm in the UK and provided legal advice and assistance to those that were vulnerable such as detained and non-detained asylum seekers/victims of domestic violence and victims of trafficking.   Ayesha has a keen interest in conducting research. One of her papers was awarded the best paper prize by a doctoral student from the Society of Legal Scholars in 2025. She previously won the Impactful Research and Knowledge Exchange Award as part of the staff awards at the University of Greenwich in 2024. Her work has appeared in leading law journals, and has been cited by the United Nations General Assembly and the House of Lords International Agreements Committee.   Find out more about Dr Riaz's work and publications here:   Ayesha Riaz | People | University of Greenwich

We revisit the archive of Activist Lawyer episodes with one of the UK's leading feminist lawyers and founder and director of Centre for Women's Justice - Harriet Wistrich.   We were reminded of the importance of Harriet's work after watching the ITV drama 'Believe Me,' which tells the story of the women who fought for justice and to be believed after serious sexual assaults perpetrated by convicted serial sex offender -  John Worboys.  The series, and indeed this episode, highlights the courage of the survivors and their legal team who challenged systemic failures in the justice system.  Although this conversation was recorded some time ago, the issues we discuss remain as relevant and urgent as ever.   Please take time to enjoy this episode - share and review on whatever podcast platform you use.    TW - This episode contains discussion of sexual assault, rape and violence against women.  Listener discretion is advised.    Centre for Women's Justice https://www.centreforwomensjustice.org.uk/

Sarah is joined by Sahar Francis, a Palestinian lawyer and human rights defender, to discuss Israel’s recently passed “Prisoners’ Execution Law” and its devastating impact on Palestinian political prisoners. With over 10,000 detainees- including 350 children, Sahar highlights the ongoing torture, extrajudicial killings, and systemic abuses perpetrated by Israel. Drawing on her 27 years defending prisoners,  she shares the fight for human rights and justice for Palestinian prisoners on the international stage as well as highlighting the brutal systems of apartheid operational on a domestic level.  Listen and find out more about how you can contribute to this work.   About Sahar Francis   Sahar Francis is a Palestinian lawyer and human rights defender, an expert in international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and international criminal law. She has worked for the last three decades, defending Palestinian political prisoners held under the Israeli occupation. Francis advocates against torture, arbitrary detention, for the guarantees of fair trial procedures, rights of women and children, and works to abolish death penalty, locally and regionally.   Francis has worked closely with the UN special procedures system and appeared as a witness in front of the United Nations Fact-Finding Missions and Commissions of Inquiry. She has drafted legal cases on torture, arbitrary detention, denial of fair trial and forcible transfer of prisoners with the International Criminal court. Francis has met scores of diplomats, parliamentarians, political leaders and activists all around the world, to promote justice for the Palestinian people.   Link to Addameer - https://addameer.ps/    

In today’s episode, Sarah is joined by activist Basira Paigham and legal officer, Ebrahim from ‘Rainbow Afghanistan.’ Learn more about the work of this impactful and vital organisation established to defend the rights, dignity and lives of members of Afghanistan’s LGBTQI+ community.  Rainbow Afghanistan, is a non-profit organisation established to defend the rights, dignity, and lives of members of Afghanistan’s LGBTIQ+ community. The organisation’s work is rooted in decades of structural discrimination, criminalising laws, and deeply embedded cultural and traditional oppression that have made it extremely difficult for LGBTQ+ individuals including gay, bisexual, lesbian, transgender, intersex, non-binary, and queer people to live freely and safely in Afghanistan.   Social Media & Links LinkedIn: Rainbow Afghanistan (Company Page) Facebook: Rainbow Afghanistan Instagram: @rainbowafghanistan X (Twitter): @Afghani1Rainbow Website: Rainbow Afghanistan https://rainbowafghanistan.com/ 

Sarah is joined by Dr Yousef Aljamal on his visit to Ireland as Gaza co-ordinator at the American Friends Service Committee.  This discussion focuses on writing as a form of resistance from the perspective of a Palestinian growing up in Gaza at the hands of Israeli apartheid and oppression.  Dr Aljamal, in a candid conversation, shares how the genocide and decades of aggression impacted his family, friends and neighbours, focusing in particular on his mentor, colleague and friend – renowned Gaza poet – Refaat Alareer, author of ‘If I must Die.’   Yousef is a Palestinian writer, translator, and a refugee from Al-Nuseirat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. He recently completed his PhD at the Middle East Institute at Sakarya University. He also serves as the Gaza Coordinator for AFSC, supporting humanitarian work, peacebuilding, and advocacy for justice.   He is co-host of the PalCast podcast alongside Tony Groves, where they explore Palestinian history, politics, and lived experience through long-form conversations.   His writing spans both academic publications and international media platforms, including Al Jazeera, where he brings critical insight into the realities of life in Gaza. His work centres on Palestinian literature, resistance, and the lived realities of life under occupation and siege. Having endured multiple wars in Gaza, he brings both intellectual depth and lived experience to international audiences.   Central to this visit is his co-edited book, ‘If I Must Die’, a powerful collection honouring the life and legacy of Refaat Alareer—the Gaza poet, teacher, and mentor killed in an Israeli airstrike in December 2023.   The book takes its title from Alareer’s final poem, which has resonated globally as a testament to dignity, resistance, and the enduring power of words in the face of violence. Through poetry, essays, and reflections, it amplifies Palestinian voices and preserves cultural memory amid ongoing devastation.   Further reading: Al Jazeera articles: https://www.aljazeera.com/author/yousef-m-aljamal Academic profile: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=PD3iv-MAAAAJ&hl=en AFSC- https://afsc.org/    Links to 'If I Must Die' https://orbooks.com/catalog/if-i-must-die/  https://inthesetimes.com/article/refaat-alareer-israeli-occupation-palestine  https://www.amazon.co.uk/If-Must-Die-Poetry-Prose/dp/1682196216    

In this episode of The Activist Lawyer, we’re joined by barrister Ifé Thompson, whose ground breaking work is reshaping criminal defence through a racial justice and linguistic lens. Ifé is the host of the Black British English Podcast and is widely recognised by communities and by her peers as a champion for linguistic, cultural and human rights.  From challenging the criminalisation of rap and drill lyrics in court to defending the cultural context of Black language, Ifé’s work pushes the boundaries of how the law understands evidence and harm. We also explore her wider advocacy as a movement lawyer and how centring community can transform legal practice. Links to cases, organisations, and Ife’s work are included in the show notes.   Ifé Thompson is a barrister at Nexus Chambers practising criminal defence, family law and human rights, nationally and internationally recognised for her pioneering work at the intersection of crime, racial justice, and human rights. Her practice focuses on youth justice, protest law, and racially aggravated matters, with a specialist emphasis on language-based injustice and the use of racial trauma within criminal defence matters. Her legal practice challenges how Black British English (BBE), African American Vernacular English (AAVE), and rap or drill lyrics are misrepresented in court as evidence of criminality rather than being recognised as cultural and linguistic rights.   She has transformed defence strategies by centring linguistic expertise and racial justice with now many lawyers using this strategy in their cases. In R v LZ (2024), she successfully defended a Black child prosecuted for using AAVE, and in R v L (2022), she successfully challenged the misinterpretation of Jamaican Patois by a non-linguist witness. In the widely publicised March 2025 “N-word trial,” she secured the withdrawal of charges against a Black woman accused of obscene communication for using the N-word, arguing that intra-community use of the term must be understood within its cultural and historical context.   She describes herself as a movement lawyer committed to confronting injustice at its roots. She treats the courtroom as a site of struggle in exposing state violence and systemic harm all while wielding legal tools in creative, disruptive ways. She believes the law, though shaped by oppressive systems, can be repurposed as a tool in the hands of communities fighting for liberation.   Prior to coming to the Bar, she founded two civil society organisations, one being BLAM UK, which supports Black cultural education and wellbeing alongside advocacy rights of Black children in UK schools and a legal observing group focused on protecting protest rights during Black Lives Matter. She was also a United Nations Human Rights Fellow in 2020 and continues to contribute to both international and domestic efforts to challenge systemic racism within the criminal justice system.     In April 2025, she was invited to deliver training to second-six pupils and junior tenants on challenging systemic racism in youth courts, as part of the Youth Practitioners’ Association. She was also commissioned to update the Youth Justice Legal Centre’s Rap & Drill Guide, introducing new sections on the criminalisation of Black language, relevant human rights arguments, and how to use international and ECHR case law when responding to challenges about the admissibility of expert evidence. The updated guide is now considered an authoritative resource for criminal defence practitioners.   Her presence on Legal Twitter has also had a significant professional impact. Lawyers frequently approach her in court after recognising her from social media, sharing how much they’ve learned from her case insights. Her tweets about the racial justice lens she applies in her criminal defence cases have led to requests from her peers for draft sentencing notes and strategic guidance when raising issues of race. These exchanges have contributed to a steady stream of professional instructions, recognition from her peers and have helped her grow a criminal practice grounded in accessibility and innovation. She is also a member of the Art Not Evidence campaign and has spoken on Represent Radio on the issue of the criminalisation of Rap and Drill music. Through her community organising and research, Ifé continues to champion linguistic rights and human rights. Her deep ties to her community give her a unique and grounded understanding of how systemic anti-Blackness operates, knowledge she uses to craft new and innovative legal arguments in the courtroom. Whether through challenging the racialised policing of language, integrating racial trauma experts into defence strategy, or advancing human rights frameworks in youth justice cases, Ifé’s creative legal approaches are rooted in real-world insight and community accountability. Her ability to synthesise grassroots realities in criminal matters allows her to challenge discrimination in powerful and effective ways that stand out within her criminal defence practice.   Her work has been recognised through prestigious nominations, including: BBC! 1Xtra Future Figures Award 2025 Legal Aid Newcomer of the Year (Finalist), LALY Awards 2023 Outstanding Individual Award, 2020, for contributions to racial justice in the criminal justice system. Through innovative casework, strategic litigation, and public legal education, Ife Thompson is shaping a new and necessary direction for racial justice within criminal defence.    R V LZ – Bromley Youth Court 2024 – Crown offered no evidence to racially aggravated charges against Black child who used the AAVE ( African American Vernacular English) terms “Nigga” and “Cracka”. Defence instructed an AAVE linguists and wrote length representation as to the importance of respecting and honouring Black Language speakers rights. The crown on the day of trial offered no evidence. R v X, Wimbledon Magistrates Court 2023 – Defending on a case where the client was charged with calling a prospective Tory MP Candidate a “coon” on Twitter. The defence included complex human rights points on freedom of expression and Black political thought. 2024 – Currently being instructed on the N-Word Trial that has already gained media attention. R v L (Magistrates Court) 2022 Successfully raised issue of language injustice in closing speech as Crown sought to rely on a non-Jamaican patois speaker’s wrong interpretation of a word used by the defendant. Client was found not guilty.   R v LZ – Bromley Youth Court 2024 and other cases: https://nexuschambers.com/barristers/ife-thompson/   Instagram: @ifedior   Twitter: @fufuisonme   BLAM UK – https://blamuk.org/   The Black British English Podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/2caDrziJlWOtppmAdXl5ss   Guardian Newspaper - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/21/black-student-police-cps-hate-speech-laws-n-word   ABC News Law Report (Australia)  - https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/lawreport/race-language-and-the-law/105012404   Hyphen Newspaper - https://hyphenonline.com/2025/03/07/case-dropped-over-black-muslim-womans-n-word-tweet-about-alexander-isak/   Canary Newspaper - https://www.thecanary.co/uk/analysis/2025/03/07/jamila-abdi-charges-dropped/   The Voice Newspaper - https://www.voice-online.co.uk/news/uk-news/2025/03/14/charges-dropped-against-black-woman-who-used-n-word-on-social-media/    

We are delving into the archive and sharing this 2022 Activist Lawyer episode featuring solicitor Jude Copeland. Jude shares his journey into law, his practice as a legal technology specialist and his outstanding work with the LGBTQ+ community.  We chose to ‘replay’ this episode as it is full of brilliant anecdotes and stories showing how activists, campaigners and fearless people can help shape the law for our benefit inspiring Jude and others in the profession.  Enjoy!

In this episode, host Sarah speaks with solicitor Jack Murphy of McIvor Farrell Solicitors about his work across a broad range of human rights areas. From representing Raymond McCord Sr in the long-running campaign for an Article 2-compliant public inquiry into his son’s murder, to challenging unlawful housing decisions affecting refugees and social housing tenancy succession, Jack discusses the legal and emotional realities of working on challenging human rights cases.   The conversation also explores prisoner rights and cultural dignity following a case that led to Irish language books being permitted in Maghaberry Prison, the pressures facing access to justice and legal aid, and the wider human impact of housing and homelessness litigation. Jack reflects on standout moments in his career to date, his work with Belfast Homeless Services, and offers advice for aspiring lawyers hoping to use the law as a tool for social change.  

In this episode of Activist Lawyer, host Sarah Henry speaks with Roi Bachmutsky from Amnesty International’s Business and Human Rights team about corporate criminal liability - how companies become implicated in international crimes, and what it takes to investigate and pursue those cases. From tracing supply chains to preparing criminal complaints, Roi unpacks how corporate accountability operates in practice.   Drawing on his experience, including his work with the Global Echo Litigation Centre - a small non-profit law firm he founded and led to focus on strategic litigation against companies implicated in war crimes in the occupied Palestinian territory, Roi reflects on a complaint linked to war crimes in the West Bank. He shares key lessons on gathering and assessing evidence, engaging ethically with law enforcement, and staying resilient in emotionally demanding work.   A thoroughly insightful and compelling conversation for anyone interested in working in this emerging field of law.   Roi Bachmutsky is a human rights attorney specializing in strategic litigation against corporate actors. He currently serves as a Legal Advisor and Researcher on Amnesty International’s Business and Human Rights team, where he manages the organization’s Corporate Crimes Project and recently authored the Corporate Crimes Handbook.   Before joining Amnesty, Roi co-founded and directed the Global Echo Litigation Center, a non-profit law firm that represents Palestinian communities in strategic litigation seeking to hold companies accountable for complicity in violations of international law in the occupied Palestinian territory. He has also supported prosecutions of the most serious international crimes at the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and the Commission for International Justice and Accountability.   Prior to becoming a lawyer, Roi worked for the Israeli human rights organisation Breaking the Silence.   For more on Roi Bachmutsky ’s work visit his website: Roi Bachmutsky - International Lawyer

We kick off our first Activist Lawyer Book Club of 2026 – with ‘Through the Gates of Hell – American Injustice at Guantanamo Bay’ by Joshua Colangelo – Bryan.   Listeners to the podcast will remember a recent episode featuring lawyer and author , Joshua Colangelo – Bryan discussing his career in international human rights law, his role with Human Rights First and his latest publication which of course features as our first Book Club 2026 read!     Please join us if you can: [email protected]    Email us Thursday 19th March 2026 6-7pm GMT Via Zoom