A London human rights solicitor has been short-listed for a new international award that recognises the role of the legal profession in promoting and defending freedom of expression.

Sean Humber, partner at Leigh Day & Co and Law Society Council member for environmental law, has been nominated for the Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Award 2005.


Mr Humber was short-listed for his work on behalf of prisoners in the UK. He has sought to establish the right of prisoners to receive the same range and quality of healthcare as the general public, using the Human Rights Act 1998 and disability discrimination legislation.


Humber: prisoners' rights

Other nominees for the award are: the Centre for Constitutional Rights in the US for its work on behalf of detainees at Guantanamo Bay and in particular the Supreme Court case of Rasul v Bush; Chinese lawyer Zheng Enchong, who was sentenced to three years in prison after advising more than 500 families displaced by Shanghai's urban redevelopment projects on their rights to fair compensation; and Dr Nguyen Dan Que, a Vietnamese human rights activist who has spent more than 19 of the past 26 years in prison.

Mr Humber said: 'I am extremely flattered to have been nominated. Thankfully, it is now accepted that prisoners are entitled to the same standard of treatment and care as the rest of society. Sadly, in too many cases, this is simply not happening.'


The winner will be announced at a ceremony on 1 March.