Nazir Afzal

Nazir Afzal OBE, was the Chief Crown Prosecutor of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for North West England from 2011–15.[1][2] He was the first Muslim to be appointed to such a position and was Britain's most senior Muslim lawyer within the CPS. He has campaigned for women's rights and spoken out against forced marriage, female genital mutilation and honour killings.[3] He was awarded an OBE in 2005.

Career

Afzal has a degree in law from the University of Birmingham. He worked as a solicitor in Birmingham from 1988 to 1991. In London, he became a crown prosecutor in 1991 and assistant chief crown prosecutor in 2001. In 2011, he was appointed North West chief crown prosecutor covering Greater Manchester, Cumbria and Lancashire. As one of the 13 chief crown prosecutors that cover England and Wales, he was responsible for over 100,000 prosecutions a year and managed 800 lawyers and paralegals. He was awarded an OBE in 2005.[4][3]

CPS

Afzal's prosecutions include a 1996 stalker of Princess Diana and the honour killing of Samaira Nazir in 2005.[3] In May 2013, he was responsible for the prosecution of disgraced former BBC presenter Stuart Hall.[5][6][7][8]

One of his first decisions on becoming a chief crown prosecutor was to initiate prosecutions in the case of the Rochdale sex trafficking gang, overturning an earlier decision by the CPS. He suggested that "white professionals' over-sensitivity to political correctness and fear of appearing racist may well have contributed to justice being stalled".[4] He said "I do feel that there’s a deficit of leadership in some parts of the Muslim community. They could be much more challenging of certain behaviours".[9] He attributed the attacks to "evil men", saying that the key driver was "male power".[9]

Afzal's work against grooming gangs has led to criticism from "members of the Asian community" and from the far right.[9] Regarding far-right campaigns to deport Afzal, he reiterated "I was born in Birmingham. They can deport me to Birmingham if they want to" and said "I think if you are getting it from both sides, you are probably getting something right."[9]

In March 2015 it was reported that Afzal was leaving the CPS. A CPS spokesman said "Nazir Afzal is leaving the service as part of [an] on-going drive for efficiency" and that "there has been no impropriety on the part of Mr Afzal".[10]

Awards

In January 2013, Afzal was awarded the Services to Law award at the British Muslim Awards.[11]

References

  1. ↑ "Our Chief Crown Prosecutor". www.cps.gov.uk. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  2. ↑ Paul Taylor. "A passion for seeing justice done". MEN Media. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 "A Muslim Prosecutor in Britain, Fighting Forced Marriages and Honor Crimes". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
  4. 1 2 "Nazir Afzal: how the CPS plans to bring more child abusers to justice". The Guardian. 21 November 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  5. ↑ "Broadcaster Stuart Hall admits indecent assaults". BBC News. 2 May 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  6. ↑ "Stuart Hall admits to sexual abuse of girls". The Guardian. 2 May 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  7. ↑ "Stuart Hall Admits Sex Assaults on Children". Sky News. 2 May 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  8. ↑ "Stuart Hall pleads guilty to child sex abuse". Channel 4 News. 2 May 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Gentleman, Amelia (3 September 2014). "Nazir Afzal: ‘There is no religious basis for the abuse in Rotherham’". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  10. ↑ "NW chief prosecutor Nazir Afzal to step down in 'savings push'". BBC News. 7 March 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  11. ↑ "Winners honoured at British Muslim Awards". Asian Image. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
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