On February 14, 2015, following the Paris terrorist attacks, Zimeray was invited to give the keynote speech at Krudttønden in Copenhagen, a debate on freedom of expression and blasphemy, featuring Lars Vilks and Femen leader Inna Chevtchenko, when it was attacked by a masked gunman.Īs France's Ambassador-at-large for Human Rights since February 2008, Zimeray has held a fundamental yet discreet role aiming at spreading the culture of human rights into the French diplomacy. On October 8, 2013, François Zimeray presented his credentials to the Queen of Denmark. In April 2019, together with Matthias Fekl, they seized the Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of Freedom of Expression of the United Nations to denounce the fate of the Egyptian writer Alaa al-Aswany prosecuted in a military court and banned from published for 5 years in Egypt. At the request of the family, François Zimeray seized the UN to denounce a detention that he considers as "medieval". In 2019, he became one of the two French lawyers of Carlos Ghosn during his incarceration in Japan. With the support of Lawyers Without Borders, SOS Eastern Christians and Bars, he calls on European leaders to allow Saif Al Malook to reside and work freely in Europe. In February 2019 he launched an appeal to the European heads of state to ask them to give Saif ul Malook "the protection and the status that his heroism calls". In December 2018, he defended the interests of Saif ul Malook, Asia Bibi's lawyer, a Pakistani Christian sentenced to death for blasphemy and acquitted at the end of October after having spent nine years in prison. In November 2018, the Internal Political Committee of the National Assembly of Venezuela chaired by Juan Guaido, designates François Zimeray to advise and assist him in the international courts and institutions regard to the serious violations of human rights committed in the country. Īt the same time, he joins with Prince Zeid and Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Peace Prize, a team of lawyers very committed to the defense of fundamental rights in the London firm Doughty Street Chambers. In September 2018, on his return from Denmark, he established together with Jessica Finelle the law firm Zimeray & Finelle.