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Rhys Davies and Ben Keith speak at a panel discussion hosted by the Arab Organisation for Human Rights in the UK on 8 March 2019

PANEL EVENT

6 MARCH 2019 — 5:00PM TO 7:30PM

HOUSE OF COMMONS

Lawyers and experts discuss the escalating implementation of the death penalty and what can be done on the international level to stop any future executions.  The event will be held at Parliament, hosted by the Rt Hon Alistair Carmichael MP.

  • Since 2013, over 2,240 persons have been sentenced to death,sentences which have reached the grave stage of beingreferred to the Grand Mufti for approval.

  • Amongst these referrals, 1157 have been approved by the Grand Mufti.

  • Sentences have been issued without fair trial, after defendants were subjected to torture, in order to extract from them false confessions.

  • So far, 36 persons have been executed. A further 60 people are currently awaiting execution having exhausted all legal means of appeal.

  • With apparent disregard for international law, the international community has turned its back on the Egyptian people whose human rights are being grossly violated.

Participants

Ben Keith, Barrister at 5 St. Andrew’s Hill
Bill Law, Former BBC journalist who has worked extensively in the Gulf states and the wider Middle East
Rhys Davies, Barrister at Temple Garden Chambers
Dr Maha Azzam, Head of the Egyptian Revolutionary Council
Aidan Ellis, Barrister at Temple Garden Chambers
Hannah Phillips, Researcher at the Arab Organisation for Human Rights

Hosted by

Rt Hon Alistair Carmichael MP

To find out more about the Arab Organisation for Human Rights in the UK and the work they do click HERE.

Contact details

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About the Authors

Ben Keith Barrister

Ben Keith is a co-founder of IHR Advisors and an internationally recognised lawyer specialising in INTERPOL Red Notice challenges, extradition, international human rights law and asylum. He is the co-author of Interpol, Law and Practice (Sweet & Maxwell, 2026). He is co-editor of Red Notice Monitor, the leading public resource on INTERPOL Red Notice abuse and the practice of INTERPOL’s Commission for the Control of Files.

Ben represents clients across every region in INTERPOL Red Notice and Diffusion challenges before the Commission for the Control of Files. He has secured the deletion of Notices issued by states including Russia, China, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Belarus, Iran and Venezuela, in cases involving journalists, opposition political figures, refugees, human rights defenders and business figures targeted in commercial and political disputes. He is the author of the INTERPOL chapter in The Practitioner’s Guide to Global Investigations (Global Investigations Review, 2026).

Ben has appeared as counsel before the European Court of Human Rights Grand Chamber, the UK Supreme Court, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and the UN Committee Against Torture. He is a member of the List of Counsel for the International Criminal Court and the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague.

He regularly acts for politically exposed persons, journalists, human rights defenders and high net worth individuals facing extradition, INTERPOL Notices and other instruments of transnational repression. He provides legal commentary to national and international media including the Guardian, The Times, the Financial Times, The Telegraph, the BBC, Sky News, CNN, CBS 60 Minutes, The Economist, Politico and Al Jazeera.

Ben is ranked Star Individual in Chambers and Partners and a leading individual in The Legal 500 for extradition. He practises from 5 St Andrew’s Hill in London.

View Ben Keith's profile
Rhys Davies Barrister

Rhys Davies is a co-founder of IHR Advisors and an internationally recognised lawyer specialising in INTERPOL Red Notice challenges, international criminal law and international human rights law. He is the co-author of Interpol, Law and Practice (Sweet & Maxwell, 2026). He is co-editor of Red Notice Monitor, the leading public resource on INTERPOL Red Notice abuse and the practice of INTERPOL’s Commission for the Control of Files.

Rhys co-authored the report Undue Influence: the UAE and INTERPOL with Sir David Calvert-Smith, examining the systemic misuse of INTERPOL’s Notice and Diffusion systems by the United Arab Emirates and the implications for INTERPOL’s governance. He represents clients in INTERPOL Red Notice challenges before the Commission for the Control of Files, with particular focus on cases involving Middle Eastern and Central Asian states, and on the position of refugees, journalists and political dissidents targeted through INTERPOL by their states of origin.

Rhys has significant experience of in-country legal advice and assistance, most recently in the West Bank, and a specific interest in the Middle East. He is a member of the List of Counsel for the International Criminal Court, the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. He regularly speaks at, and chairs, events at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva and at the House of Commons on matters of international law.

Rhys is the author of numerous articles on INTERPOL Red Notice practice and on justice in the Middle East, and is in demand as a commentator on international human rights. He provides legal commentary to national and international media including The Times, the Guardian, the Independent, the Financial Times, CBS 60 Minutes, Sky News, City AM and Al Jazeera.

Rhys is recommended as a leading individual in The Legal 500. He practises from Temple Garden Chambers in London and The Hague.

View Rhys Davies's profile