LAWYER IN THE NEWS

Who? Dipak Jotangia, 35-year-old partner at Dass Jakhu, which is a five-partner commercial firm in Birmingham and London.

Why is he in the news? He represents one of the Afghan leaders who earlier this year hijacked a passenger plane - containing 170 passengers on a domestic flight in Afghanistan - which eventually landed at Stansted Airport.

The hostage drama ended with the arrest of 22 passengers, many of whom were suspected to have collaborated with the hijackers in a calculated bid to claim asylum.

Twelve Afghans were charged with the hijacking - their names are not being released for fear of reprisals in Afghanistan, which has one of the world's worst human rights records.

Background: Law degree at University of Essex (1984-87) followed by Law Society finals at the College of Law in Chester.

Qualified in 1990 with commercial firm Saunders Sobell, which he left earlier this year to set up the Mayfair office of Dass Jakhu.Route to the case: 'I was recommended to my client through word of mouth.'

Thoughts on the case: 'All the people charged with the hijacking are seeking asylum, and they all came over for this reason.

We're trying to put the message across to the world about the state of affairs in Afghanistan - it's a medieval society, truth is stranger than fiction.

My client is an affluent, non-violent man, living in a horrifically violent society - the hijacking was the only way he could think of to get out of the country, because if he had stayed, he would have been killed.

We're pleading duress of circumstances; it's a similar case to the Iraq hijacking in 1996, where they also pleaded duress, successfully.'

Dealing with the media: 'The trial is scheduled to start in January, and we're expecting it to capture the public's attention, and hopefully highlight the appalling state of affairs that these people were escaping from.

There are, however, moves to curb potential press attention due to the threat it will pose to the hijackers' families back in Afghanistan.'

Victoria MacCallum