Shami Chakrabarti praises Manchester’s proud history of civil rights leaders

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18 Nov 2014

Liberty Director, Shami Chakrabarti, praises Manchester’s long history of civil rights leaders as she gives a lecture to students at The University of Manchester.

Shami Chakrabarti, the leading human rights campaigner and director of civil liberties organisation Liberty, has praised Manchester’s place in civil rights history ahead of a lecture to students at The University of Manchester.

Chakrabarti, who was made an Honorary Professor of Law at the University earlier this year, will be talking to students today (Tuesday 18 November) about her career and her role at Liberty, which campaigns to protect rights and freedoms.

She will also meet students from The University of Manchester keen to follow in her footsteps as socially responsible future leaders.

Shami Chakrabarti said: “Manchester has a long and proud history of producing strong leaders who have fought for our rights and the rule of law – a fight that’s more critical today than ever. Throughout my life I’ve been incredibly fortunate to learn from a number of inspiring mentors, and I’m delighted to meet these young people who are committed to making a difference as the leaders of the future.”

The Director of Liberty is a familiar face on TV and radio and is a regular contributor on Question Time, Newsnight and the Today programme. In February, she was judged to be one of the 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom by Woman’s Hour on BBC Radio Four.

Since becoming Liberty’s Director she has written, spoken and broadcast widely on the importance of the post-WW2 human rights framework as an essential component of democratic society.

At today’s lecture Chakrabarti will meet members of the Manchester Leadership Programme which provides students with the opportunity to enhance their university experience while giving something back to the wider community.

Dinah Crystal OBE, Director of External Relations and Clinical Education at the School of Law at The University of Manchester, said: “Once again Shami Chakrabarti is committing to take the time to inspire and promote the causes she believes in to our students. This will help to enthuse and will help us in our mission to promote debate about justice.”

Tonight at the Royal Exchange Theatre Shami Chakrabarti will be in conversation with Owen Jones who is a political author and writer for The Guardian.

After the show, Chakrabarti will be meeting a Syrian student from The University of Manchester’s School of Law who founded a human rights and rule of law organisation which is teaching Syrian rebel fighters to prevent human rights abuses.

In 2013, whilst studying as a law undergraduate at the University, Ibrahim Olabi founded The Syrian Legal Development Programme to promote legal education which will help the Syrian people set the foundations for a future Syria.