Speaker of the People’s Majlis appoints Kirsty Brimelow QC to represent him in the criminal investigation into the terrorist attack against him in the Maldives
Speaker of the People’s Majlis Former President Mohamed Nasheed appoints Kirsty Brimelow QC to represent him and examine and work alongside the criminal investigation into the terrorist attack against him in the Maldives. Kirsty is to apply her legal expertise to evidence gathering and application of national and international law in partnership with national and international law enforcement and lawyers to bring to justice the perpetrators of this attempt to kill both the Speaker and democracy in the Maldives.
Speakers Nasheed is the first democratically elected President of the Maldives. He says: “A functioning justice system is a crucial part of democracy. Rights and security are essential for every human. Kirsty Brimelow QC’s vast and relevant experience will be invaluable in the onward identification and apprehension of those who schemed, planned and funded the assassination attempt against me which was inspired by extreme ideology”.
Kirsty Brimelow QC is instructed leading in the most serious and prominent cases nationally and internationally at domestic and appellate level. Former clients include two Chief Justices (Gibraltar and Trinidad and Tobago), a Judge (Colombia) and former politician (British Virgin Islands).
Courts
- She has prosecuted and defended in murder and terrorist cases and is one of the few Q.C.s to have appeared in both Criminal and Civil Courts of Appeal, as well as before the Supreme Court and the regional courts of the Inter- American Human Rights system and European Court of Human Rights system and United Nations Human Rights Council special procedures.
Expert
- Ms. Brimelow QC has provided expert evidence on terrorism to the Australia’s Independent National Security Legislation Monitor. Between 2009 -2018, Ms. Brimelow QC compiled and led 15 training delegations of UNICEF’s Child Protection Networks in Nigeria, the National Human Rights Commission, the National Judicial Institute and Judges, magistrates, social workers and police in child rights.
- She gave a keynote speech on the rule of law and terrorism to the Nigerian Bar Association Bar Conference in Abuja Nigeria and at the Asma Jahangir Human Rights Law conference in Lahore, Pakistan.
- In 2019, Ms. Brimelow QC was appointed to give expert evidence in Strasbourg before Grevio, the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence which monitors the Istanbul Convention. In 2020- 2021 Ms. Brimelow QC was selected to give evidence to the British House of Lords Constitution Committee, the joint Select Committee on Human Rights and the All Party Parliamentary Group on Human Rights on the lawfulness of emergency legislation and proposed new protest law.
- Ms. Brimelow QC is a regular trainer of lawyers and law enforcement nationally and internationally, including the National Crime Agency (England and Wales) and the Anti-Corruption Agency in Kazakhstan.
Fact Finding
- In 2011 Ms. Brimelow QC was appointed by the Attorney General of Antigua to direct police investigating a US$61 million fraud related to a previous government.
- Ms. Brimelow QC has headed numerous fact finding human rights missions including in Sri Lanka (2014), in the refugee “Jungle” camp in France (2016), in Nepal (2014) , in Turkey (2018) and in Colombia (2009 and 2021). Currently, Ms. Brimelow is leading a team of barristers and academics as consultants for UNICEF in Myanmar; working with local lawyers on child rights in the state of emergency.
Mediation
- Between 2012 – 2017, Ms. Brimelow acted as mediator between the former Colombian President Santos and his government and the peace community of San José de Apartadó. It resulted in an historic apology from the former President to the peace community.
Positions
- Ms. Brimelow QC is a Bencher of Gray’s Inn and former Chair of the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales. She was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1991 and has been called to the Bars of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, the British Virgin Islands and Gibraltar. Ms. Brimelow was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2011. She is Visiting Professor at Goldsmith’s University, London and Trustee of the World Wildlife Fund UK.
- Ms. Brimelow is the incoming Vice-Chair of the Criminal Bar Association of England and Wales. She is a regular legal commentator in the media and writer for The Times newspaper. Ms. Brimelow QC practises from Doughty Street Chambers, London.