Ben Keith

Yesterday arguing the extradition case of Sanchez v United Kingdom at the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights. #strasbourg #HumanRights #extradition

@BenCAKeith provides expert insight on the misuse of Interpol mechanisms by Russia to target critics abroad. In a recent @BBCNews investigation, Ben was quoted on the growing concern around the use of Interpol’s wanted list and alert systems as tools of political pressure against dissidents, journalists and opponents living outside Russia. The investigation highlights how repeated abuse of red notices and diffusions risks undermining Interpol’s core purpose and raises serious rule-of-law concerns. Ben’s commentary underscores the real-world consequences for those affected and the need for stronger safeguards and oversight within international policing frameworks. To read the full article, please click here: bit.ly/3LJzcFk #Interpol #InternationalLaw #Extradition

Reflecting on CJE @WMutunga ’s rhetorical question “Are African governments selling Turkish citizens to Türkiye?”, Mustafa Güngör (KE) + Emre Çınar (Moz) arrests expose a dangerous transnational repression trend on African soil. Diplomacy must not mask abuse. @INTERPOL_HQ and extradition must never be weapons against those fleeing persecution. #StopTransnationalRepression irunguhoughton.org/post/arrest-of… or standardmedia.co.ke/houghton-irung… #StandardSettingKE

@irunguhoughton @WMutunga @INTERPOL_HQ @ForeignOfficeKE @URASAFRICA @HumanRightsCtte @LawSocietyofKe @TurkishMinuteTM @OHCHRKENYA @ohchr_sa @RefugeesMedia @BenCAKeith @LondonAdvocacy

@5SAHLaw is delighted to share that @BenCAKeith has been appointed to the A Panel and @GeorgiaEBeatty to the C Panel of the Attorney General’s Panel of Counsel for Public International Law. Counsel appointed to the Panels undertake specialist civil and public international law work on behalf of government departments, and appointments are made for a term of five years. We extend our warm congratulations to Ben and Georgia on these well-deserved appointments. Find out more here: bit.ly/3XLyI3P #AttorneyGeneralsPanel #PublicInternationalLaw #CounselAppointments

On 11 December 2025, 1300–1630, join IBAHRI's Baroness @HelenaKennedyKC and Dr @EwelinaUO for @HumanRightsLawA x @BarHumanRights' virtual seminar, ‘Advocacy & Strategy for #HumanRights Defenders: Community, Communication & Collective Action’. Register: tinyurl.com/2j6kup9m

@BenCAKeith writes for @Newsweek , published 26 November 2025. INTERPOL delegates, including police chiefs, ministers and senior officials from all 196 member countries, are gathering to elect the organization’s next president. At stake is not a ceremonial title but the integrity of the world’s most important system of police cooperation. And the frontrunner, Turkey’s Mustafa Serkan Sabanca, appeared in a classified memo released this week that shows him advising officials on how to get around INTERPOL’s rules. In the leaked memo, Sabanca “kindly requested” that Turkish officials recast a politically motivated case against a human rights lawyer in exile as an embezzlement matter. The original allegations, tied to the Gülen movement, could never survive Article 3, INTERPOL’s ban on political cases. The solution he proposed was simple deception. The memo is not ambiguous. It is not theoretical. It is a written instruction on how to disguise a political prosecution so it might pass through INTERPOL unnoticed... To continue reading, please click here: bit.ly/3M5ZYHL #INTERPOL #InternationalLaw #HumanRights

2/4 Pressure Mounts on Labour Government to Call for Release of 2 British Businessmen 'Forgotten' for 17 Years in a UAE Jail hostageaid.org/pressure-mount… UK - Daily Mail 2 leading human rights lawyers have written to Foreign Secretary @YvetteCooperMP calling on her to personally intervene in the cases of Ryan Cornelius, 71, & Charles Ridley 66, who have been languishing in a Dubai prison since 2008. In their letter, Rhys Davies KC & @BenCAKeith say the 'unlawful' detention of the 2 Britons after their conviction in a 'kangaroo court', 'is likely to continue unless the United Kingdom Government takes action'. Before their arrest, the 2 men had agreed to a settlement scheme, in which they had begun to pay back the money before they were detained & convicted.

Should I make a career move to the UK? ft.com/content/699515… via @ft @BenCAKeith

Following a successful complaint to the UN Committee Against Torture, my client was granted a residence permit and protection by Sweden. This commendably demonstrates that the CAT has functioned effectively and that the Swedish authorities have complied with its opinion. @UN_SPExperts

Sign up for @HumanRightsLawA and @BarHumanRights #HumanRightsDay2025 event with Baroness Kennedy KC, Jo Cecil KC, @SamanthaOmraniKC, @aarif_abraham, @EwelinaUO, @Rothna_Begum, @BenCAKeith, @Kamel_ElHilali, @gee___whizz, @vdraphael and other great speakers. barhumanrights.org.uk/bhrc-and-hrla-…

The @IBAevents Annual Conference in Toronto continues today with the RWCHR team @yonahdiamond , @mutasimali3 , and @IrwinCotler contributing to panels on democratizing international justice, the state of international law in the era of Trump, and accountability in the aftermath of conflict. Learn more here: raoulwallenbergcentre.org/en/news/2025-1…

@BenCAKeith of @5SAHLaw , alongside Rhys Davies of @TG_Chambers , has secured a finding from the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention that UK national Charles Ridley has been arbitrarily detained in the UAE for 17 years. The UN Working Group, established by the Commission on Human Rights to investigate cases of unlawful detention, has ruled that Mr. Ridley's detention is arbitrary and violates articles 9, 10, and 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Working Group concluded that his detention falls within Categories I and III, finding no legal basis for his continued imprisonment and identifying serious violations of due process and fair trial rights. The UAE authorities applied Law No. 37 of 2009 retroactively to Mr. Ridley, punishing him under legislation that came into force in December 2009 for alleged offences occurring years before the law came into effect. Mr. Ridley, a British businessman, was arrested in May 2008 during a visit to Dubai. In 2011, following a flawed trial, he was convicted of fraud offences and sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment plus a $500 million fine. He completed his sentence in November 2015 but was not released. In May 2018, years after serving his full sentence, he was brought before a judge and subjected to an additional 20-year detention period under Law No. 37 of 2009. He was given no prior notice of this hearing, denied the right to make submissions, and his legal counsel was prevented from speaking. The Working Group has called on the UAE to release Mr. Ridley immediately and accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations in accordance with international law. It has urged the government to ensure a full and independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding his arbitrary detention and to take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of his rights. The UAE government was given the opportunity to respond by the United Nations but declined to do so. Ben Keith commented: "The UN's findings are clear and comprehensive. Mr. Ridley has been imprisoned for 17 years, with the last decade having no lawful basis whatsoever. The UAE's refusal to even respond to the UN's inquiries speaks volumes. The international community must now exert pressure to secure his immediate release." To find out more, please click here: bit.ly/3Lit5Hq #HumanRights #InternationalLaw #UNWorkingGroup

@BenCAKeith writes for @FTAdviser . The article considers the detrimental impact of recent UK policy changes to both the immigration framework and the non-dom tax regime, warning that these developments are “undermining high-net-worth investment” in the UK. In the piece, Ben examines how the tightening of immigration routes and the erosion of long-standing fiscal incentives are together creating significant uncertainty for internationally mobile individuals and their advisers. He concludes that these shifts have led to a notable decline in the UK’s attractiveness as a destination for HNW investment and relocation. To find out more and for access to the full article, please click here: bit.ly/4np6ztD #ImmigrationLaw #HighNetWorth #UKInvestment

Changes to immigration policies and non-dom regime destroying HNW investment - ⁦@FTAdviser⁩@BenCAKeith ftadviser.com/international-…

@BenCAKeith co-authored an article with Rhys Davies, @TG_Chambers, for the @NewLawJournal. In their article “Interpol: Seeing red?”, they examine the case of the Tinder Swindler, showing the power of Interpol red notices and discuss what happens when notices are used improperly. In Brief: - Simon Leviev, also known as the Tinder Swindler, was arrested in Georgia on an Interpol red notice, showing that the system can work when nations cooperate and act. - A red notice is an electronic notification, indicating that one state is seeking the location, arrest and possible extradition of an individual, although jurisdictions respond to them in different ways. - The system remains vulnerable to manipulation and abuse, with extensive documentation of misuse by authoritarian regimes. The full article can be read on the New Law Journal website. The online article sits behind the NLJ paywall, non-subscribers can access it free of charge by entering their name and email address. To find out more, please click here: bit.ly/3WUaGDc #INTERPOL #InternationalLaw #ExtraditionLaw

We are delighted to announce that Izzy Fish, Rachel Warner and Rebecca Khan have all commenced pupillage at 5SAH Chambers. Izzy and Rachel are undertaking criminal pupillages and Rebecca is undertaking a family pupillage. A warm welcome from all of us at 5SAH Chambers. To find out more, please click here: bit.ly/3WJvAF0 #CriminalLaw #FamilyLaw #Pupillage

We are delighted to announce that George Smart, Georgina Lane, Hannah Steventon & Minahil Tariq join 5 St Andrew's Hill as tenants. Minahil accepts appropriate instructions in Family & Children and International Family cases. She practices exclusively in all areas of family law. George, Georgina, and Hannah prosecute and defend in a wide range of criminal cases. They regularly appear in the Crown and Magistrates’ Courts. In addition to this, George accepts instructions in the areas of extradition and & proceeds of crime work. Georgina and Hannah also accept instructions in the areas of extradition, professional discipline & regulatory and proceeds of crime work. To find out more, please click here: bit.ly/4qhib4A #NewTenants #CriminalLaw #FamilyLaw

On Friday, following a second hung jury, a client represented by Nick Jones (led by @TECQC of @23EssexStreet and instructed by @LuNicholls and Bhavna Kerai of Nicholls & Nicholls) was formally found not guilty of murder and manslaughter at Inner London Crown Court. The case centred on a stabbing in a flat in East London. The Defence maintained that another occupant of the flat — a prosecution witness — was in fact responsible for inflicting the fatal wound. The case involved extensive CCTV, telephone, DNA, and blood evidence. In both trials, the Defendant made the difficult decision not to give evidence, a strategy that focused attention on the weaknesses in the prosecution’s case. This was an unusual case, with no direct witnesses to the incident and only a closed pool of possible suspects. Through a careful analysis of phone data, the Defence demonstrated that the Defendant was unlikely to have made a series of contested calls to the emergency services. Ultimately, the forensic evidence proved neutral as to who had inflicted the fatal injury, and the Crown was unable to satisfy the jury so that they were sure of the Defendant’s guilt. To find out more, please click here: bit.ly/3KPfPcY #CriminalLaw #Acquittal #Defence

Exiled Russian opposition politician @vkaramurza, who was released from a Russian penal colony as part of a political prisoner exchange with the West in August 2024 and now lives in the United States, has been declared wanted by the Russian Interior Ministry. ⤵️