Threats and intimidation directed at solicitors are “utterly unacceptable” and “undermine the very foundation our legal system and the rule of law”, the Law Society of Ireland has said.
The representative body for Irish solicitors condemned the attack on Dublin-based immigration solicitor Imran Khurshid, following a report last week that he had received online threats.
“When a solicitor is threatened, whether that is because of the colour of their skin, religion, ethnic background or area of legal practice, the entire legal process is threatened,” said Law Society president Barry MacCarthy. “Threats of this nature towards any person must be strongly condemned.”
In late July, a series of posts on the X social media platform called for Mr Khurshid to be “burnt” and “chased out of Ireland”.
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His firm, Daly Khurshid Solicitors LLP, also received an email entitled “warning”, which wrote: ‘ “We know who you are and what you are doing ... Let this be your only warning.”
Mr Khurshid, who has been practising in Dublin for nearly a decade, said he no longer feels safe walking alone in Dublin city centre in light of these threats and the change in attitude towards immigrants in Ireland.
In the Law Society statement, Mr MacCarthy said legal professionals should be able to “perform their duties without fear or harm” and that “every person, regardless of their background or the nature of their case, is entitled to competent and fair legal representation”.
“This principle is fundamental to a just society and is enshrined in our legal system,” he said, adding that the Law Society stands “firmly behind” all solicitors who are subjected to threats.
Mr MacCarthy also commended An Garda Síochána for its “prompt action”.
Gardaí contacted Mr Khurshid after he reported the threats and an officer took a statement from the solicitor last week.
Mr Khursid, who said on Sunday he expects to meet gardaí again this week, expressed relief at their swift response.
He believes the Dublin riots last November sparked a change in how people perceive and approach immigration. “One incident can change a lot, there was a lot of anger building up before the riots, rightly or wrongly. If we don’t act or deal with this now, it could become a much bigger problem.”
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