Sheraaz Hingora

Barrister. Asylum and immigration law. RTs do not imply endorsement. Tweeting in a personal capacity. Scrutiny is the oxygen of democracy.

[Sheraaz Hingora @Sheraaz_Hingora]

@SangitaMyska @mehdirhasan @zeteouk Fantastic achievement and well deserved. 👏

[Andy Burnham @andyburnham]

In a difficult and dangerous world, a decade on from Brexit, there is a risk that Britain loses the confidence to lead and stand up for its values.

I’m not prepared to let that happen. It is more important than ever that Britain stands for something.

We have called for years for a two-state solution in the Middle East, but we must recognise that those words are meaningless unless we back them up with action.

For too long, we have been hesitant to act, fearful of being accused of being anti-Israel.

Today we are announcing carefully judged, targeted steps that are not aimed at the Israeli people, but at the unacceptable policies of the current Israeli government.

The suffering of the Palestinian people is a scar on the conscience of the world. Innocent Palestinians, including children, continue to be killed in Gaza. And there is still a humanitarian crisis, with far too little aid getting in.

The scale of destruction is hard to comprehend. More than 70,000 people lie dead - at least 20,000 of them children. Families and communities have been torn apart. Millions displaced. And the population of Gaza is now penned into just one third of the territory.

I know that people across the UK feel very deeply about this issue - and so do I.

Before I became Prime Minister, I said our country’s response had been too slow and simply not good enough. That’s why I committed to changing the government’s approach.

I will not stand by as the horrific suffering continues to grow and the prospect of a two-state solution - the best hope for peace and stability in the region - comes under attack.

More settlements have been approved under the four years of this Israeli government than in the previous 20 years. The UN has reported more than 1,500 incidents of settler violence so far this year, aimed at driving out Palestinians. And the situation is growing worse, fast.

The Israeli government has now approved 104 new settlements since it took office in December 2022, and ahead of the October elections in Israel, it is allowing tenders for the construction of the E1 mega settlement to go ahead. This would cut a swathe through the heart of the West Bank - snuffing out the hope of realising a two-state solution. It cannot be allowed to happen.

That’s why we are announcing a new package of tough measures to put pressure on the Israeli government:

First, we will ban the trade in goods with illegal settlements in Palestine.

Second, we have formally changed the view of the British government to say for the first time that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory is unlawful - independent of, but in line with, the conclusion of the international court of justice.

And third, we will sanction individuals and companies that support, facilitate or profit from illegal settlements. That includes any businesses or investors that take part in the construction of the E1 settlement.

In addition, we are announcing a new package of desperately needed humanitarian aid to Gaza.

We are taking these steps because it is the right thing to do.

I have condemned the monstrous terrorist attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 in the strongest possible terms - and continue to condemn Hamas. However, it does not justify the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza or the West Bank.

The measures we are taking are about targeting illegal settlements and increasing the pressure on the Israeli government to change course. We are not imposing sanctions on Israel as a whole, which would punish the Israeli people, many of whom disagree with their government’s position.

The Israeli people are not responsible for the actions of their government. And nor is the Jewish community in the UK. Blaming British Jews for the actions of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is wrong, plain and simple. And it is antisemitism, plain and simple.

I met the representatives of the Jewish community just last week. I know the fear they live with day by day. My government will stop at nothing to ensure they are safe and to stamp out antisemitism in every part of our society.

The measures we are announcing today are about protecting the only solution that could see the Israeli and Palestinian people living side by side in peace and security - something that people up and down the UK desperately want to see.

The government I lead will keep working with our partners around the world to keep that hope alive.

[Sheraaz Hingora @Sheraaz_Hingora]

@pritipatel

[Defend our Lawyers @DefendourLawyer]

Barristers, solicitors, judges and supporters gather outside the Old Bailey on the anniversary of Bushel’s case in 1670. The event was in order to show support and solidarity for Rajiv Menon KC, whom the senior judiciary is attempting to imprison for words spoken by him during a closing speech on 8/1/26 at Woolwich Crown Court.

Menon is believed to be the first barrister in British history to be prosecuted for contempt of court for words spoken during a closing speech.

[Sangita Myska @SangitaMyska]

I refuse to support a fake, opportunist, cos-playing a politician. That’s why I back @CountBinface against Farage! #ClactonByElection

[Nick De Marco KC @nickdemarco_]

I was just reading about this. To me, it makes matters considerably worse.
The issue is no longer simply whether the original red card was justified. It is whether FIFA has undermined the integrity of the World Cup, and its own authority as the global regulator of football, by appearing either to invent a procedure or, at the very least, to apply its rules in a wholly unprecedented way, against a backdrop of acknowledged political pressure, while refusing to give reasons and seemingly leaving the decision with no meaningful avenue of challenge.

As someone committed to sporting integrity, transparency, fairness and the rule of law in sport, if the reports of what has happened are accurate, I find this deeply troubling.

For years I have represented players and others facing lengthy bans for betting offences where there has been no suggestion whatsoever of match manipulation, because the governing bodies, including FIFA, have consistently argued that preserving confidence in the integrity of the sport requires robust and uncompromising enforcement.

If that is the standard expected of participants, the regulator itself must be held to at least the same standard. If the reports are accurate, this decision, and the consequences for FIFA, could prove to be truly seismic, eclipsing the controversy about the red card itself.

#sportslaw #sports #fifa #balogun

[أنس الشريف Anas Al-Sharif @AnasAlSharif0]

This is my will and my final message. If these words reach you, know that Israel has succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice. First, peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings.

Allah knows I gave every effort and all my strength to be a support and a voice for my people, ever since I opened my eyes to life in the alleys and streets of the Jabalia refugee camp. My hope was that Allah would extend my life so I could return with my family and loved ones to our original town of occupied Asqalan (Al-Majdal). But Allah’s will came first, and His decree is final. I have lived through pain in all its details, tasted suffering and loss many times, yet I never once hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or falsification—so that Allah may bear witness against those who stayed silent, those who accepted our killing, those who choked our breath, and whose hearts were unmoved by the scattered remains of our children and women, doing nothing to stop the massacre that our people have faced for more than a year and a half.

I entrust you with Palestine—the jewel in the crown of the Muslim world, the heartbeat of every free person in this world. I entrust you with its people, with its wronged and innocent children who never had the time to dream or live in safety and peace. Their pure bodies were crushed under thousands of tons of Israeli bombs and missiles, torn apart and scattered across the walls.

I urge you not to let chains silence you, nor borders restrain you. Be bridges toward the liberation of the land and its people, until the sun of dignity and freedom rises over our stolen homeland. I entrust you to take care of my family. I entrust you with my beloved daughter Sham, the light of my eyes, whom I never got the chance to watch grow up as I had dreamed.

I entrust you with my dear son Salah, whom I had wished to support and accompany through life until he grew strong enough to carry my burden and continue the mission.

I entrust you with my beloved mother, whose blessed prayers brought me to where I am, whose supplications were my fortress and whose light guided my path. I pray that Allah grants her strength and rewards her on my behalf with the best of rewards.

I also entrust you with my lifelong companion, my beloved wife, Umm Salah (Bayan), from whom the war separated me for many long days and months. Yet she remained faithful to our bond, steadfast as the trunk of an olive tree that does not bend—patient, trusting in Allah, and carrying the responsibility in my absence with all her strength and faith.

I urge you to stand by them, to be their support after Allah Almighty. If I die, I die steadfast upon my principles. I testify before Allah that I am content with His decree, certain of meeting Him, and assured that what is with Allah is better and everlasting.

O Allah, accept me among the martyrs, forgive my past and future sins, and make my blood a light that illuminates the path of freedom for my people and my family. Forgive me if I have fallen short, and pray for me with mercy, for I kept my promise and never changed or betrayed it.

Do not forget Gaza… And do not forget me in your sincere prayers for forgiveness and acceptance.

Anas Jamal Al-Sharif
06.04.2025

This is what our beloved Anas requested to be published upon his martyrdom.

[Mohamed Salah @MoSalah]

Can you tell us how he died, where, and why?

[Led By Donkeys @ByDonkeys]

“My name is Amos Goldberg. I am an Israeli Professor of Holocaust Studies. For nearly 30 years I have researched and taught the Holocaust, genocide and state violence.

And I want to tell whoever is willing to listen that what’s happening now in Gaza is a genocide.

A year ago when October 7th happened, like all Israelis I was in shock. It was a war crime and a crime against humanity. 1200 people - more than 800 of them civilians - were killed in one day. Children and the elderly were among those taken hostage. Communities were destroyed. It was outrageous, traumatizing, personal. Like most Israelis, I know people who were killed, who lost loved ones or whose loved ones were taken hostage.

But immediately afterwards came Israel’s response and within weeks thousands of civilians were killed in Gaza. It took me some time to digest what was unfolding before my eyes. It was agonizing to confront that reality. I was reluctant to call it a genocide.

But if you read Raphael Lemkin – the Jewish-Polish legal scholar who coined the term ‘genocide’ and was the major driving force behind the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention – what is happening in Gaza now is exactly what he had in mind when he spoke about genocide.

It does not need to look like the Holocaust to be a genocide. Each genocide looks different and not all involve killing of millions or the entire group. The United Nations Genocide Convention explicitly asserts that genocide is the act of deliberately destroying a group in whole or in part. Those are the words.

But there does need to be a clear intent.

And indeed, there are clear indications of intent to destroy Gaza: Israel’s leaders - including the prime minister and the minister of defence - and many high-ranking military officers, media personalities, rabbis, as well as ordinary soldiers were very open about what they wanted to achieve. There were countless documented incitements to turn the whole of Gaza into rubble and claims that there are no innocent people living there.

A radical atmosphere of dehumanization of the Palestinians prevails in Israeli society to an extent that I can’t remember in my 58 years of living here.

Now that vision has been enacted. Tens of thousands of innocent children, women and men have been killed. Over a hundred thousand were wounded. There is a near total destruction of infrastructure, intentional starvation and blocking of humanitarian aid. There are mass graves and reliable testimony of summary executions. Children that were shot by snipers. All the universities and almost all hospitals are gone. Almost all the population is displaced. There have been numerous bombings of civilians in so-called ‘safe zones’. Gaza does not exist anymore. It is completely destroyed. Thus, the outcome fits perfectly with the stated intentions of Israel’s leadership.

Lemkin - that scholar who coined the term ‘genocide’ - described two phases of a genocide. The first is the destruction of the annihilated group and the second is what he called ‘imposition of the national pattern’ of the perpetrator. We are now witnessing the second phase as Israel prepares ethnically cleansed areas for Israeli settlements.

And therefore, I have come to the conclusion that this is exactly what a genocide looks like. We don’t teach about genocides in order to realize it retrospectively. We teach about it in order to prevent it and to stop it.

But like in every other case of genocide in history right now we have mass denial. Both here in Israel and around the world.

But reality cannot be denied.

So yes, it is a genocide.

And once you come to this conclusion you cannot remain silent.”

- Statement to Led By Donkeys, December 2024
- Photo: Parliament Square, London, 8.40am, 4th December 2024

[Ayoub Khan MP @AyoubKhanMP]

Given the Prime Minister’s reply to my question last week. I along with my colleagues ⁦@jeremycorbyn⁩ ⁦@AdnanHussainMP⁩ ⁦@ShockatAdam⁩ ⁦@iqbalmohamedMP⁩ now want the Attorney General to clarify the legal advice given to the Prime Minister!!!

[Charles Lister @Charles_Lister]

Just now -- acclaimed British surgeon testifies to #UK Parliament, detailing how #IDF "quadcopters" would arrive at the scene of airstrikes in #Gaza & "pick-off" / "shoot" the injured, including children.

[Nour Naim| نُور @NourNaim88]

🚨HEARTBREAKING: Israel has wiped out this entire beautiful family. NO one was left alive… not the children, the women, the men, or the elderly.

Their only crime? Being from #Gaza‼️

[Dr. Jennifer Cassidy @OxfordDiplomat]

These are the innocent souls who have survived over a year of endless bombardment, destruction and annihilation of their people, culture, homes, families and culture. They are now left to starve. While the world watches. The world has never had access to so much information. So much evidence. And done so little.

[Husam Zomlot @hzomlot]

Heartbreaking. Every day is like this. This must end now.

[AJ+ @ajplus]

“Their hostages are not their objective. Decimating Hamas is not their objective.”

Israeli forces killed Hamas’ leader Yahya Sinwar. International law expert @4noura says that Israel’s actual goal hasn’t changed – annihilating the Palestinian people in Gaza.

[Jeremy Corbyn @jeremycorbyn]

Palestinians are not just victims. They are people with imagination, ideas, literature, poetry, music and art. We need to see and hear that as well.

Watch the full film with @gazasunbirds here: https://t.co/T3HiGoBuqe

[Warfare Analysis @warfareanalysis]

A video shows an Israeli soldier shooting a Palestinian child while children were running away from them in the town of Biddu, northwest of Jerusalem, yesterday morning.

[Lord Bebo @MyLordBebo]

🇵🇸 “Are we really cheap to you?
We are human beings just like you”

— Journalist Yousra al-Aklouk after the bombing of the Aqsa Martyrs Hospital

[Shockat Adam MP @ShockatAdam]

The scenes that unfolded outside the Al Aqsa hospital compound were a painful indictment of our collective failure to protect the most vulnerable, especially those still in hospital beds receiving treatment. We witnessed the charred remains of people including children.

The continued supply of parts for F-35 fighter jets while international law is broken again and again must be questioned and we must stop arming Israel.

[Humza Yousaf @HumzaYousaf]

Israel deliberately targets refugees in hospitals, schools & destroying vaccination sites. Innocent people being burned alive.

Every day, we witness unimaginable horrors & complete disregard for international law.

No sanctions, just more arms. Failure and complicity. For shame.