On Liberty

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Since 9/11, governments have told us to sacrifice some freedoms for greater security. In this highly personal, impassioned defence of fundamental human rights, Shami Chakrabarti, the Director of Liberty, draws on her own campaigning experience to argue that our civil liberties aren't disposable - they matter more than ever. On Liberty is the story of today's threats to our freedoms and a highly personal, impassioned plea in defence of fundamental rights, from Shami Chakrabarti, the director of the advocacy group Liberty On 11 September 2001, our world changed. The West's response to 9/11 has morphed into a period of exception. Governments have decided that the rule of law and human rights are often too costly. In On Liberty, Shami Chakrabarti - who joined Liberty, the UK's leading civil rights organisation, on 10 September 2001 - explores why our fundamental rights and freedoms are indispensable. She shows, too, the unprecedented pressures those rights are under today. Drawing on her own work in high-profile campaigns, from privacy laws to anti-terror legislation, Chakrabarti shows the threats to our democratic institutions and why our rights are paramount in upholding democracy. 'Probably the most effective public affairs lobbyist of the past 20 years' - David Aaronovitch, The Times 'The undaunted freedom fighter' - Observer 'The most dangerous woman in Britain' - Sun

Shami Chakrabarti is director of the human rights campaign group Liberty. She was a member of the panel of the Leveson Inquiry, a judicial inquiry into phone hacking in the UK. Chakrabarti is Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University, Honorary Professor of Law at the University of Manchester, Visiting Fellow of Nuffield College, Oxford and a Master of the Bench of Middle Temple. She was awarded a CBE in 2007 and she was one of eight bearers of the Olympic Flag at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics. This is her first book.