Dennis Edney (19 December 1946 – 30 December 2023) was a Canadian defence lawyer based in

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

, Canada. Originally from Scotland, he was noted for his involvement in high-profile cases, including Brian Mills, R. v. Trang, as defence attorney for

Abdullah Abdullah may refer to: * Abdullah (name), a list of people with the given name or surname * Abdullah, Kargı, Turkey, a village * ''Abdullah'' (film), a 1980 Bollywood film directed by Sanjay Khan * '' Abdullah: The Final Witness'', a 2015 Pakis ...

and

Omar Khadr Omar Ahmed Said Khadr (; born September 19, 1986) is a Canadian who, at the age of 15, was detained by the United States at Guantanamo Bay for ten years, during which he pleaded guilty to the murder of U.S. Army Sergeant 1st Class Christopher S ...

, who were captured in the War on Terror, for Fahim Ahmad, and for representing the entire

Khadr family The Khadr family () is an Egyptian-Canadian family noted for their ties to Osama bin Laden and connections to al-Qaeda.

. He also represented Canadian Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy charged in the US with plotting to carry out mass shootings of civilians at concerts, to bomb New York Times Square, and to bomb the city's subway system.

Early life and education

Dennis Edney was born in

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

, Scotland on 19 December 1946. He worked as a building contractor after immigrating to Canada. Edney received his law degree in 1987 from the

University of Northumbria Northumbria University (legally the University of Northumbria at Newcastle) is a Public research university, public research university located in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England, North East of England. It has been a university since 199 ...

and has since appeared at all levels of court, including the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants eac ...

and the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

. He was appointed Foreign Attorney Consultant by the U.S. Pentagon to participate in the legal defence of Omar Khadr, at

Guantanamo Bay Naval Base Guantanamo Bay Naval Base (), officially known as Naval Station Guantanamo Bay or NSGB, (also called GTMO, pronounced Gitmo as jargon by the U.S. military) is a United States military base located on of land and water on the shore of Guant ...

, Cuba.

Career

Edney lectured extensively, with emphasis on the

Rule of Law The essence of the rule of law is that all people and institutions within a Body politic, political body are subject to the same laws. This concept is sometimes stated simply as "no one is above the law" or "all are equal before the law". Acco ...

, to organizations, universities and conferences throughout North America. He served as keynote speaker on behalf of

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...

, on the Rule of Law (2005); and in London, England, at the international conference on the "Global Struggle against Torture" (2005). On 25 September 2007, Edney appeared on the

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

program ''

As It Happens ''As It Happens'' is a Canadian interview show that airs on CBC Radio One in Canada and various public radio stations in the United States through Public Radio Exchange. Its 50th anniversary was celebrated on-air on November 16, 2018. It has be ...

'', where he claimed politics were responsible for the Crown's sudden reversal of process, abandoning the preliminary inquiry, for the Toronto terrorism trial. He was one of the defence attorneys supporting the

publication ban A publication ban is a court order which prohibits the public or media from disseminating certain details of an otherwise public judicial proceeding. In Canada, publication bans are most commonly issued when the safety or reputation of a victim ...

on information about the trial, while others decried it. In 2008 he received the Canadian National Pro Bono Award: "The significance of his commitment is based not only on the tremendous energy, time and personal resources spent advocating on Mr. Khadr’s behalf, but also based on the complexity of the litigation, which was argued before Canadian and U.S. courts and military tribunals. His commitment in the face of potential personal repercussions of representing an unpopular case is a testament to the finest traditions of the legal profession. The fruits of islabour have not only increased access to justice for one individual but impacted human rights the world over." Dennis Edney13

Edney was named by ''Alberta Venture'' magazine as one of 50 Alberta's most influential people for 2008. He received the 2009 Human Rights Medal awarded by the

Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia The lieutenant governor of British Columbia () is the representative of the monarch in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The office of lieutenant governor is an office of the Crown and serves as a representative of the monarchy in the p ...

for work that "has helped to promote and further human rights". In 2011, he was appointed a

Bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher c ...

of the

Law Society of Alberta The Law Society of Alberta (LSA) is the self-regulating body for lawyers in Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie pr ...

. He also received the honorary title of Queens Counsel for exceptional merit and contribution to the legal profession. On 10 December 2013, the 65th anniversary of the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal D ...

, he was recognized by the

John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights The John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights is a human rights education organization headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta. It is one of the few human rights education organizations in Canada. It was founded in 1998 in honour of John Humphre ...

in Edmonton. In addition to his caseload, he is noted for speaking publicly at conferences and engagements on legal matters, including the rule of law as it relates to the war on terror. On 19 September 2014, when the

Canadian Museum for Human Rights The Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR; ) is a Canadian Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation and List of national museums, national museum located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, adjacent to The Forks, Winnipeg, The Forks. The purpose of the ...

, in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, was first opened, Edney participated in a human rights panel about Omar Khadr's case at the nearby Manitoba Children’s Theatre. Edney was also presented with an award for his work from the Winnipeg Peace Alliance. Dennis Edney and Patricia Edney star in the 2015 Canadian documentary ''Guantanamo's Child: Omar Khadr'', which looks at Edney's advocacy for

and features interviews in Edney's home, where Khadr resided as a guest after being released on bail in 2015. Edney died of complications from dementia on 30 December 2023, at the age of 77.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Edney, Dennis 1946 births 2023 deaths Lawyers in Alberta Guantanamo Bay attorneys 2006 Ontario terrorism plot People from Dundee People from Edmonton Scottish emigrants to Canada