Shaheed Fatima: Who is Prince Harry’s hijab wearing lawyer

London: A hijab wearing Muslim lawyer Shaheed Fatima QC in representing Prince Harry in a London court where the Duke of Sussex is appealing a government refusal to provide the British royal with police protection even if he pays for it.

Harry and wife Meghan lost their UK taxpayer-paid protection when they quit frontline royal duties in 2020 and moved to California.

The Duke of Sussex, who was not in court on Friday, is seeking a judicial review after the interior ministry declined his request to pay himself for UK police protection.

The couple have their own private security team in the US but Harry says that they do not have adequate jurisdiction or access to UK intelligence necessary to keep his family safe.

Harry’s lawyer Shaheed Fatima who is associated with Blackstone Chambers specialises in international and public laws. Her practice extends beyond UK and includes European Court of Human Rights and UN treaty bodies. In 2007 she was awarded Justice Human Rights Lawyer of the Year.

According to her profile, Shaheed has a broad practice which includes commercial law, civil liberties/human rights, public law/regulatory law and public international law. Many of her cases involve aspects of conflict of laws, public international law or foreign law.

The extensive scope of her practice is reflected in the wide range of courts in which she appears (English courts; the European Court of Human Rights; the Court of Justice of the European Union; UN treaty bodies; arbitral tribunals) and in her diverse clients, which include

• States (e.g. Bahrain; Cyprus; Iran; Rwanda; Russian Federation; UK);
• International organisations (e.g. the UN Refugee Agency; World Bank Group);
• Companies and regulatory bodies (e.g. Association of Chartered Certified Accountants; BHP; Gemfields; Glencore; Miramax; Royal Mail; Volkswagen); 
• NGOs (e.g. Amnesty; Justice; Liberty; Redress);
• UK Government Departments (e.g. Foreign and Commonwealth Office; Home Office; Treasury), and
• Individuals (e.g. Prince Abdul Aziz of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Gordon Brown, former UK Prime Minister and UN Special Envoy for Global Education; the UK Prime Minister; the Trustee for the liquidation of the business of Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities LLC; former Ukrainian President, Viktor Yanukovych).