British lawyer awarded for his work in Turkey
Tobias Garnett was awarded by the Law Society of England and Wales’ for his work on behalf of the Altan brothers and Şahin Alpay
23.10.2017
Last week British lawyer Tobias Garnett received the Human Rights Lawyer of the Year award at the Law Society of England and Wales' annual Excellence Awards in London.
The judging panel recognised the work that Tobias has been doing to defend journalists imprisoned in Turkey through applications to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
Garnett contributed to applications on behalf of Ahmet and Mehmet Altan and Şahin Alpay, which have set a precedent by being the first of the cases arising from the politically-motivated detentions that followed the failed coup to be accepted by the ECHR for review.
Garnett has also worked to secure formal interventions in these applications from a large group of international press freedom NGOs, the Council of Europe, and the UN with the aim of securing the release of journalists languishing in Turkey's jails.
Tobias Garnett accepted the award in absentia, "in solidarity with the brave lawyers in Turkey who are risking their own freedom to defend the rights of the many thousands swept up in the country's brutal crackdown."