Please note the Law Society will be closed for the holidays Dec. 24, 28 and 31, 2015.
The Law Society of Upper Canada commends the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) on the release of its final report today. We are grateful to TRC Commissioners Justice Murray Sinclair, Chief Wilton Littlechild and Dr. Marie Wilson for their tireless and profoundly important work in helping to build understanding of the reconciliation process — and to create a roadmap for the future.
For the 10th year in a row, The Law Society of Upper Canada has been named a Greater Toronto Area (GTA) Top Employer.
Tahir Elçi was the head of the Diyarbakir Bar Association. He had previously been detained and received death threats after saying the separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party should not be regarded as a terrorist organization. Tahir Elçi was active as a human rights lawyer since the 1990s. He played a critical role in investigating alleged abuses by the Turkish state, but he was also outspoken in his criticism of Kurdish militants.
Karim Hamdy was accused of belonging to a terrorist group, protesting without authorization, possessing weapons and using them against the police during protests. He denied the accusations and advised the prosecutor that he had been tortured by the police in order to obtain a videotaped confession.
Mahfooz Saeed is a human rights lawyer and member of the legal team for the former president of Maldives Mohamed Nasheed.
Adilur Rahman Kahn is a prominent lawyer and human rights defender. In 2014, he was awarded the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Prize. Adilur Rahman Khan is the founder and secretary of Odhikar, a human rights organization that works to raise awareness of human rights and monitor alleged violations in Bangladesh.
Ermek Narymbaev is well-known for exposing financial fraud carried out by banks in Kazakhstan. He also provides legal advice to those that have been deliberately misinformed by banks. In 2011, Ermek Narymbaev was awarded the Kazakh “Freedom” award.
Narges Mohammadi is a prominent human rights lawyer and activist, as well as the deputy director and spokesperson for the Defenders of Human Rights Centre (“DHRC”) in Iran. The history of her harassment by Iranian authorities has been well-documented.
Abdullah Abdelkader was a judge and human rights defender, and a member of the Sudan Human Rights Monitor. He provided legal aid to victims of human rights violations, particularly in areas affected by armed conflict, including South Kordofan, Blue Nile and Darfur. He was also very active in advocating for and supporting fellow human rights defenders in these regions.