Introducing Hannah Al-Qaryooti
The PILS staff and board are delighted to welcome Hannah Al-Qaryooti to the team as our new Legal Support Manager.
An activist, advisor and advocate, read on to discover more about the wealth of experience Hannah brings to the role.
Tell us about life before PILS.
After graduating with a Law degree from the University of Oxford, I worked in London as a Caseworker, and later a Team Leader, at Safer Renting, a tenants’ rights advocacy service.
I moved back to Belfast in September 2023 and since then I turned my attention to activism, organising with Cairde Palestine, and working at the Sunflower Pub. And now I work for PILS!
What was it about PILS that caught your attention?
PILS bridges the gap between grassroots human rights organisations and legal professionals, to pursue litigation that furthers human rights and equality, for the public interest.
As I am quite involved in a few organising and community groups in Belfast, I was drawn to the role as I can understand the benefit to these groups that an organisation like PILS has, which is connecting activists to lawyers, a bridge that is often difficult to establish, or seems daunting without experienced people helping you do this.
As our new Legal Support Manager, how can our members work with you?
The Legal Support Manager is the first point of contact for members seeking to pursue litigation in the public interest.
I can assist our members with their applications for support, whether that is for financial support or legal representation. I am available to guide and assist our members throughout this process, discussing the merits and challenges along the way.
Why did you say ‘yes’ to this job?
(I was sick of working until 2am – joking!) I was delighted to accept the offer as I am really impressed by the work PILS does and I can understand, from the point of view of an activist, how invaluable the support offered by PILS is in furthering human rights and equality in the North.
Have you any advice for activists who are curious about using legal processes to back up their campaigns, but are unsure of where to start?
Firstly, I would reassure them that I am also active in different campaigns and direct actions.
There are a lot of lawyers and legal professionals that do so too, or are highly supportive of the work of campaigners and activists. PILS has assisted many activist groups to achieve significant success for their campaigns through judicial review.
Our member organisations and lawyers alike share the same goal of furthering and protecting human rights.