Medal of Freedom for Iftikhar Chaudhry

November 14th, 2007 atrophyingsenses · 4 Comments

Following last week’s military crackdown in Pakistan and the detention of hundreds of lawyers, the Harvard Law School Association has decided to award Pakistani Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry its highest honor: The Harvard Law School Medal of Freedom. Past recipients of the Medal of Freedom include the members of the Brown v. Board of Education litigation team and former South African President Nelson Mandela.

To raise awareness and further promote discussion about the events in Pakistan, the Harvard South Asia Initiative will be hosting campus-wide events on Friday, November 16.

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Filed Under: Politics

4 responses so far ↓

1 suneel // Nov 14, 2007 at 1:41 am

he well deserved it …but how this medal can help in this situation ?
2 sanFranz // Nov 14, 2007 at 3:54 am

deserved it? this is so bizzare. Comparing this guy to Nelson Mandela — an erlier recipient of the medal — I have lost all respect for Harvard. I heard the 2 hour proceedings in the US house of reps (available on youtube) interviewing Negraponte, and was thinking these American dudes have absolutely no idea what goes on in Pakistan. Then I thought that maybe it’s just these Reps who don’t know how to critically analyze the situation. But similar attitude coming from a University? the awareness of academic circles in the US is totally lost on me.
3 Rao // Nov 14, 2007 at 11:32 am

Well this is a good gesture. We all support the movement of lawers and stand by the freedom of media. As for as Justice Chaudhary’s role a before June 2007 is concerned, he also seems to be a corrupt like our entire system. His son’s admission to medicine degree & appointment in police are the cases of favoritism in the history of Pakistan with no precedence. This case alone is sufficient to prove his ineligibility for that respectable office.

But I support him beside his corruption and nepotism just because he is working for judicial activism and also this is the time to get rid of this dictator. By supporting the cause of judiciary and other political parties we can achieve this objective.
4 Rao // Nov 14, 2007 at 11:37 am

I also support him because all what is described was the part of past. People do mistakes and learn from them. I hope him that he would have been feeling guilty over his misdeeds. And now he is sincere to Pakistan and its people.