Ben Cooper

Profile

Ben defends some of the most complex and difficult extradition cases at all levels resulting in numerous successes on human rights and humanitarian grounds. Ben acted for Gary McKinnon since his arrest in 2005 on a US extradition warrant all the way up to the House of Lords and European Court and for subsequent judicial reviews against the Secretary of State and DPP, finally achieving justice for Gary McKinnon only last month. He acts for Liberty defending a victim of serious domestic violence who is wanted in the US in relation to allegations of international child abduction. He represented Babar Ahmad and others accused of terrorism by the USA facing indefinite solitary confinement within federal Supermax prisons. A number of his clients have obtained ongoing relief from the European Court preventing removal to the US. Ben has successfully campaigned and lobbied Parliament for the introduction of the forum bar to extradition. He represents Richard O'Dwyer in his defence to extradition to the US.

In November 2012, Ben was honoured by Liberty as Lawyer of the Year. To read more please click here.

International Crime

He recently successfully defended the head of a human rights NGO in Kenya who was facing the death penalty in Uganda after travelling there to provide legal assistance to Kenyan citizens who had been unlawfully rendered to Uganda and he has acted on behalf of numerous death row prisoners in the Caribbean. He was counsel for Feroz Abbasi in the first legal challenge to both the regime at Guantanamo Bay and the UK's refusal to intercede on behalf of British citizens detained there. He since represented returning prisoners from Guantanamo Bay preventing further criminal proceedings against them. His human rights based public law practice saw a successful Article 6 and 8 based challenge to Closure (eviction) Orders under the ASBO Act 2003 resulting in new due process guidance for those facing summary evictions.

Extradition

Ben was counsel for F-K and her 5 children in the first extradition case in which the Supreme Court/House of Lords has ordered a defendant to be discharged. It was also the first time it has upheld a human rights argument in extradition since the HRA was brought within the statutory extradition scheme. The case has transformed the approach courts must now adopt when faced with the Article 8 rights of young dependent children to remain with parents facing extradition. He has prevented extradition on Article 2 grounds where the court accepted the defendant faced a "foreseeable, (perhaps very) real risk of death and torture" at the hands of the requesting Government authorities.

Other Serious Criminal Offences

He also defends in the Crown Court where he has secured acquittals on human rights grounds, defends medical cannabis users and is defending the leader of the English leader of the Brazilian Sainte Daime Church on Article 7 and 9 grounds in response to his prosecution for importing an ayahuasca based tea (alleged to be a class A drug) for his congregation in the UK.

Criminal Appeals

Ben has brought 5 extradition appeals to the House of Lords and the Supreme Court and achieved the first defence victory there under the 2003 Extradition Act and the first success on human rights grounds.