Peter Ashman

Peter Ashman (1950–2014) was a human rights lawyer and campaigner.

He was born in St Albans, spent his childhood in Libya, Lebanon, and Westcliff-on-Sea, and studied law at King's College London.

In the 1970s he joined GLF and subsequently CHE.

In 1977 he became the legal officer of Justice, the International Commission of Jurists.

At the 1978 CHE Conference he organised a meeting of activists from 14 countries which led to the creation of ILGA.

He had a key role in preparing the case of Dudgeon v the United Kingdom at before the European Court of Human Rights. The Court's decision led to the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Northern Ireland, and ultimately to decriminalisation throughout Europe.

In 1992 he set up the office of the European Human Rights Foundation in Brussels.

In 2004 he became an adviser to the Foreign Office on human rights, and promoted the idea that British embassies should support LGBT rights in their host countries.