"A group of almost 50 prominent Australians have written to Prime Minister Tony Abbott to express support for the Human Rights Commission (HRC) and its president, Gillian Triggs.
Mr Abbott attacked the commission for its damning report into children in immigration detention calling it "a blatantly partisan politicised exercise".
The Forgotten Children report found immigration detention was "a dangerous place for children" and called for a royal commission into the practice of putting children into mandatory detention.
The letter, signed by businesswoman Janet Holmes a Court, former prime minister Malcolm Fraser, Sir Gus Nossal and a host of other legal, political and academic leaders, offered full support for Ms Triggs and her work.
"We express our profound dismay at your highly personal attacks on Professor Triggs," the letter said.
What is the Human Rights Commission?
Set up in December 1986 as Australia's national human rights watchdog
Has the authority to investigate possible breaches of federal human rights and anti-discrimination laws
Operates independently from the Federal Government
President Gillian Triggs is a former barrister who was appointed to the job in 2012
Professor Rob Moodie from the University of Melbourne, who organised the letter, said the group saw the Prime Minister's response as "an attack on one of the fundamental parts of a vibrant and fair democracy".
"We are imploring the Prime Minister to have the courage to accept findings like this or at least to discuss them and not denigrate them because they're such a fundamental part of fair society," he said.
"We seem to be going against human rights traditions and international law and we need him to lead that discussion courageously rather than making it a political issue."
The letter said it was Professor Trigg's responsibility to protect the most vulnerable in society and "she has been scrupulous in meeting it".
"I think she's just very good at her job, she's gutsy and sticking to her mandate and won't be threatened and bullied," Professor Moodie said.
"That takes considerable courage. It's not easy to be attacked by a prime minister or his senior ministers.
"Using the media to denigrate the commission and her as a president is highly inappropriate.""
