Brandon Silver

Brandon Silver is an international human rights lawyer, and founding Director of Policy and Projects at the Canada-based Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights.

In this capacity, Brandon serves on the legal teams of prisoners of conscience, working to secure freedom for dissidents and statespeople around the world whose release can transform the movements and societies they lead.

He helped facilitate the escape of Iranian dissidents, the rescue of a Kabul school being targeted by the Taliban, was a leader in the international effort to free Russian pro-democracy leader Vladimir Kara-Murza, and is serving as counsel to families of hostages held in Gaza and Palestinians persecuted by Hamas. He has served as counsel to Venezuelan opposition leaders and human rights defenders, Russian and Chinese pro-democracy campaigners, a dissident Philippine Senator, and is a core part of the campaigns to free Hong Kong media freedom hero Jimmy Lai and Saudi blogger Raif Badawi.

Brandon has been named a “Global Shaper” by the World Economic Forum, one of Canada's "Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers" by Canadian Lawyer Magazine, and is the recipient of the 2025 Magnitsky Award for Outstanding Human Rights Lawyer.

Photo: Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy