Attacks on lawyers prompt plea for protection

Solicitors are calling for greater protection when working on publicly sensitive cases, following recent attacks on lawyers in the aftermath of the terror attacks on 11 September.Amjad Malik, an immigration solicitor at Manchester firm Bhatti Solicitors, was targeted after acting for Shafiq ur Rehman - a Muslim cleric facing deportation on grounds that he posed a threat to national security for alleged involvement in an Islamic fundamentalist group - in two appeals to the House of Lords.'Stones were thrown through my windows at home and my car was vandalised,' he said.

'This is a sensitive time and the public are angry and frustrated, so solicitors should be extra vigilant.'Mr Malik, winner of the Peter Duffy human rights award for young lawyers and Young Solicitors Group pro bono award - both sponsored by the Gazette - said his house and car appeared in news coverage on television, leaving him exposed.

'The media should take more care of the reports they are putting out and of the information they are broadcasting or printing,' he said.Imran Khan, who represented Stephen Lawrence's family and is senior partner of London firm Imran Khan & Partners, said he was aware of other recent incidents involving solicitors being threatened.'Unfortunately it is part of the job these days.

It is natural to be associated with some of your clients,' he said.

'But it would be a defeatistattitude to ignore sensitive cases - you must just be extra careful.'He urged the Law Society toproduce guidance for lawyers who take on controversial cases, saying: 'The authorities must send out a clear signal that intimidation and attacks on lawyers will not betolerated'.He added that advice should include ensuring solicitors' offices do not give out contact details and installing CCTV at home.Rodney Warren, vice-chairman of the Criminal Law Solicitors Association, said: 'Sadly, solicitors have the task of defending very unpleasant people and I can say from experience that they receive threats both in and out of the courtroom.

I think the initiative of introducing guidance for lawyers is a welcome one and I shall be taking it forward.' Law Society chief executive Janet Paraskeva said: 'The Law Society takes very seriously any threat to the safety and security of solicitors.

We are in contact with the Association of Muslim Lawyers and looking at the viability of a support network for Muslim lawyers in need at this time.'

Andrew Towler