After working for 20 years in Shiraz as a criminal and human rights lawyer, Raeesi moved to Canada in 2012 to escape undue detention and legal actions from the Iranian government. Thanks to the Scholars at Risk program, he is now able to teach and learn in Ottawa free from prosecution.聽Learn more about .

The presentation will take place from 7-8:30 p.m. in room 2017 Dunton Tower.聽Prior to the main event, we are holding a reception from 6-7 p.m. and would like to invite any faculty writing on human rights to attend, bring their books, and speak to guests about their work. If you are interested in promoting your human rights work and joining the conversation, please contact Norah Vollmer.

Space is limited, so .

For Hossein Raeesi, a criminal and human rights lawyer from Iran, the fight to end injustice and guarantee human rights for the oppressed is just a part of his daily job.

After working for 20 years in Shiraz, Raeesi moved to Canada in 2012 to escape undue detention and legal actions from the Iranian government. Thanks to a new program at 杏吧原创 University and the University of Ottawa, he is now able to teach and learn in Ottawa free from prosecution.

As public interest and scrutiny into international human rights increases, 杏吧原创 and uOttawa have joined Scholars at Risk (SAR), an international network of higher education institutions dedicated to protecting threatened scholars, preventing attacks on higher education communities and promoting academic freedom worldwide.

As part of the program, 杏吧原创 and uOttawa have pledged to co-host a number of the world鈥檚 brightest scholars for one-year appointments – the first being Raeesi.

鈥淚n Iran as a human rights lawyer, and a very active one at that, who trained law students and legal apprentices, the Iranian judiciary system and some governmental organizations became very sensitive to my career and activities,鈥� says Raeesi.

While in Iran, Raeesi says the government monitored his career and coerced some of his clients to drop him as their lawyer, telling them that they would receive more charges if they continued with Raeesi.

For a lawyer who specializes in human rights鈥攕upporting women, children, minority groups, LGBTQ citizens, political activists and more鈥攚orking in the Iranian judiciary system that uses Sharia law was often a challenge.

鈥淣ot everything in Sharia law is against human rights, but honestly it has conflicts with international human rights principles. Because the Iranian system follows Sharia law, it creates real problems for human rights activists and for lawyers like myself,鈥� he says.

Thanks to the Scholars at Risk program, Raeesi will be taking courses at uOttawa toward professional accreditation as a lawyer in Ontario, in addition to helping Canadian law students learn more about his passion – international legal systems. The fourth-year 杏吧原创 course he currently teaches, Human Rights, Sharia Law and Islamic Legal System, draws directly from his personal experiences.

His course centers on research and discussion, allowing a handful of students per class to share their own research about the course鈥檚 main topics. Raeesi says he also integrates his own law cases into the course, allowing students to get a glimpse of real-world Iranian legal issues.

鈥淚 love teaching and I鈥檓 so happy to be involved with these young students. All of them are actively looking for new ideas about Sharia law and the connection to human rights, and I鈥檓 glad that they follow it well and enjoy it,鈥� he says.

鈥淪haring these experiences with my students and colleagues creates a common ground and helps remove misconceptions about Muslim societies, which is something we all need.鈥�

To learn more about the Scholars at Risk network, visit the .