Magnitsky Awards
Presenter’s Bio

Amal Clooney is a barrister who specializes in international law and human rights and frequently represents journalists and political prisoners around the world.

She currently represents the award-winning Filipino journalist Maria Ressa and has previously represented Khadija Ismayilova, an investigative reporter imprisoned in Azerbaijan for reporting on corruption; Mohamed Fahmy, former Al Jazeera bureau chief in Cairo; and two Pulitzer Prize-winning Reuters journalists who were recently released from imprisonment in Myanmar.

She also represents the victims of mass atrocities, including a group of Yazidi women from Iraq who are seeking accountability for genocide in national courts and before the United Nations.

Mrs. Clooney is a Visiting Professor at Columbia Law School, where she co-teaches the Human Rights course.

In 2016, she and her husband George established the Clooney Foundation for Justice to advance justice in courtrooms, classrooms and communities around the world.

In 2019, Mrs. Clooney was appointed the special envoy on media freedom by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office.