CASES
Krishna Maharaj
British citizen Kris Maharaj died in prison on 5 August, 2024 after spending 38 years behind bars for a crime committed by a Colombian drug cartel. Kris was wrongfully convicted in 1987 of a double murder that took place in Miami on October 16, 1986. I have represented him since 1993. After 15 years on death row, Kris was re-sentenced to life imprisonment, which amounted to another kind of death sentence. After failing to get him relief in the courts, I wrote a book about his case.
If you would like to donate to help bring his body home to Britain for burial and to support attempts to achieve his posthumous exoneration please do so here.
If you would like to attend any of the the following events please email me via the contact form.
Monday, August 26,
13:00 - late: Memorial cricket match (Dorset v. Rest of the World) with BBQ and fireworks at Broadwindsor Cricket Club. Camping at ground possible.
Tuesday, August 27,
10:00-12:30: Kris spent 13,808 days in prison for a crime he definitively did not commit. We will be walking 13,808 paces along the Jurassic Coast, starting at land end of West Pier, West Bay, Bridport (opposite Windy Corner Cafe).
15:30: Funeral will take place at the Bridport Catholic Church, 36 Victoria Grove, Bridport DT6 3AD. Parking at Wykes Court Carpark, Rax Lane.
16:30: Interment at the Bridport Cemetery, half a mile from Marita’s new home, so she can visit him every day.
AAFIA SIDDIQUI
Dr Aafia Siddiqui is a Pakistani neuroscientist and mother of three who is currently held in a Texas Federal Prison, enduring an 86 year sentence for attempted murder of a US soldier, an incident in which she was the only person actually shot. The circumstances of Aafia’s arrest and extradition are shrouded in secrecy, the evidence presented at trial was riddled with inconsistencies, and much of it was extorted by torture. I am conducting investigation to challenge her treatment as the only woman subject to the CIA rendition-to-torture program. To support work her case please donate here.
Guantánamo Cases
The Guantánamo Bay Detention Center opened in January 2002, in response to the events of 9/11. At one time there were 780 men being held there. I have represented 87 of these men and was one of the first lawyers to bring a challenge the prison in the Rasul v Bush case in February 2002, seeking to restore the writ of habeas corpus to the men held there. I visited the prison many times, and memorialised what I was allowed to reveal about what I saw and heard in a book. Most of the men have now been released, but I still represent several current and former prisoners, all of whom were cleared for release as posing no threat. These include Ahmed Rabbani, Abdul Malik, Asadullah Haroon, Saifullah Paracha and Khalid Quassim.
Clinton Young
The Justice League apprentices (pictured) and I are providing investigation and legal support on the retrial of Clinton Lee Young (second from left) in Texas. In January 2022, after almost 20 years on death row in Texas, Clinton Young was released on bail pending a new trial. His conviction was vacated after it was discovered that one of the prosecutors at his original trial was secretly being paid to work as a clerk for the trial judge, writing his rulings denying relief. Clinton was convicted of double murder in 2003, and was sentenced to death, but has maintained his innocence throughout.