IHRC has written to the UN to welcome its intervention in the British government’s witch-hunt of a solicitor representing the Palestinian political group, Hamas.

The UN intervened in the case of Fahad Ansari after IHRC raised the issue with the international body last year.

Following the approach, five Special Rapporteurs wrote to the British government raising serious concerns over the treatment of Fahad Ansari who is acting for the Palestinian political organisation, Hamas, in its application to be removed from the British government’s list of proscribed terrorist organisations.

Mr Ansari was stopped by police and had his phone seized and examined under anti-terrorism laws as he returned to the British mainland following a trip to Ireland. He was also subsequently targeted by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. He is due in court next week to challenge the detention and seizure.

In its report the UN said that it had received information concerning “the alleged harassment, intimidation, and the misuse of counter-terrorism powers against Mr. Fahad Ansari, in apparent retaliation for carrying out his lawful professional functions as a lawyer.” and that such measures may “criminalize, stigmatize and have chilling effects against lawyers and legal associations carrying out lawful work in national security and counter-terrorism matters.”

The report was prompted by IHRC’s communication to the relevant Special Rapporteurs in September 2025 and our advocacy efforts at the UN, including the Pro-Palestinians under Attack side event held in Geneva the same month where we sought to highlight the growing pressure faced by lawyers, civil society actors, academics, and others who express solidarity with Palestine. IHRC has also written two reports documenting the crackdown on pro-Palestinian activity after October 7, 2023, titled The Authoritarian Drift of the European Democratic State: the Crackdown on Pro-Palestine Movements-Part 1 and Part 2.

Mr Ansari’s case is just the proverbial tip of the iceberg. Another case IHRC has raised with the UN is that of Ousman Nour, a barrister who is facing regulatory proceedings brought by the Bar Standards Board for speaking out against the genocide in Gaza.

Our letter to the UN today criticises the government response to the report for failing to engage meaningfully with the implications of the case. ” In our view, this is not a substantive response to the UN’s concerns, but a largely evasive one that does little to dispel the serious doubts raised by the original communication,” we say.

[ENDS]

Notes to Editors

The five Special Rapporteurs are: the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism; the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers and the Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy

For more information or comment please contact the Press Office on (+44) 208 904 0222  or (+44) 7958 522196 or email media@ihrc.org