Raji Sourani has been dedicated to the promotion and protection of human rights in occupied Palestinian territory throughout his professional career, despite the personal and professional sacrifices he has been forced to make in the process. He has been an active lawyer since his qualification in 1977, representing a wide variety of victims of human rights abuses. He received many honours in his career, most recent of which was Right Livelihood Award for 2013.
Despite periods of political imprisonment in Israel, Mr Sourani has maintained an unwavering commitment to human rights. He has been an advocate for basic human rights standards both at a domestic and international level and has refused to curtail his outspoken criticisms of failures by Israel, the Palestinian Authority, political parties and other states to adhere to human rights standards.
He founded the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights in 1995 with a group of fellow lawyers and human rights activists in the Gaza Strip.
