Experts on countries of origin by country

Fahim Abrar Abid is a legal researcher specialised in international law, human rights and asylum cases. He has provided expert opinions used in UK First-tier & Upper Tribunals proceedings, the University of London Refugee Law Clinic, and U.S. immigration matters (USCIS). His reports focus on risk on return, credibility in light of country conditions, political opinion (actual/imputed), and the treatment of minorities, journalists, activists and detainees. He is an Erasmus Mundus scholar in international law and security and the Founder of the Bangladesh Society of International Law.

Reports delivery: Within 2 weeks (For emergency cases: 1 week)

Mohamed Naser Alam is a Barrister-at-Law at the Bar of England and Wales, and an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh with over 30 years of comprehensive legal experience spanning immigration and asylum law, human rights, and sophisticated corporate-commercial practice, with a primary geographic focus on Bangladesh. He combines frontline refugee protection work with deep expertise in Bangladesh’s legal, political, and human rights landscape, making him a highly qualified country expert for cases involving Bangladesh.

He served as Legal Counsellor with the UNHCR Urban Refugee Project in Bangladesh, conducting refugee status interviews, assessing protection claims, analysing country-of-origin information, and assisting with third-country resettlement applications. He appeared as a legal representative in numerous Immigration and Asylum appeals before the IAT. He served as a National Consultant for UKAID (DFID) to review the Police Reform Project, the Access to Justice Project, and the Legal Aid Project in Bangladesh. He has in-depth experience and understanding of human rights abuses, arbitrary detention, custodial torture and death, extra-judicial killings, politically motivated false criminal cases, abuse by the law-enforcing agencies, enforced disappearance,… Read more

Syed Mohammad Ali is a lecturer for the MA in Global Security Studies program ay Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Ali has a PhD in development anthropology, and he has extensive experience working with multilateral, bilateral, government, and non-government organizations on varied international development challenges.

Besides teaching, Dr. Ali is a Non-Resident Scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington D.C., and he is a Non-Resident Faculty member affiliated with the Beaconhouse National University in Lahore. He is also the author of several peer-reviewed articles, half a dozen book chapters, as well as the book Development, Poverty and Power in Pakistan: The Impact of State and Donor Interventions on Farmers, published by Routledge in 2015. His other publications include numerous policy papers for leading think-tanks including the United States Institute of Peace and the Middle East Institute. 

Dr. Ali writes a weekly op-ed in the Express Tribune, an affiliate of the New York Times in Pakistan, since 2011. He regularly participates in panel discussions on several Pakistani news channels, as well as on international media outlets including Al Jazeera, China Global Television Network, Channel NewsAsia, Voice of America’s televised Urdu Service programs… Read more

Political scientist with comprehensive experience from research and Country of Origin reports and documents assessments. Research experience on political economy, opposition and political parties, political rights, democratic institutionalisation, NGOs. Expert on human and political rights abuse, political persecution, LGBT persecution, risk of return and of brutal and degrading treatment and torture.

A UK trained Barrister and a practicing lawyer working in the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. An avid political enthusiast and human rights activist with the history of academic teaching and research. Very updated with the prevailing human rights condition, political parties and political situation and judicial administration of Bangladesh and regularly providing expert opinion on these issues.

Specialist in political oppression, human rights, Expanding Communal Riot, Rule of Law, Freedom of Speech and Government Rulings, and Security and Justice with a particular expertise on social/ethnic/political groups at risk of persecution in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Myanmar. Experience in writing legal grounds and producing expert reports for asylum cases, persecution, gender inequality, Religious Extremists and vulnerable condition of women and children, etc

Expertise in the Laws of Immigration, Right of Immigrant, Human Rights under the purview of various Social and Political aspects of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Myanmar.

A social anthropologist (Ph.D. Cambridge 2002), Dr Daryn brings over three decades of hands-on and academic experience in anthropology, human rights, politics, and refugee policy across South Asia. This includes 18 years of living in Nepal and India, doing prolonged spells of fieldwork and research, as well as work in various international organisations. During  his British Academy postdoctoral fellowship at the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London, 2003-6) Dr Daryn also taught the MA course: “The Anthropology of South Asia”. He became closely acquainted with asylum seekers, including Bangladeshis, Indians, Pakistanis, Sri Lankans, Burmese, and Tibetans, while working in UNHCR’s Kathmandu office (Nepal) during 2008-9 as an Associate Durable Solutions Officer. In this capacity, Dr Daryn became familiar with the RSD process and UNHCR’s Country of Origin information on South Asian countries, read in detail many private refugee files, and conducted focus group discussions and interviews with many refugees. Since then, he has focused on the study of human rights in South Asian countries. From 2005 onwards, Dr Daryn has served as an Expert Witness in asylum appeal cases and has written over 230 Expert Reports for court cases mainly in the UK,… Read more

Barrister-at-Law (Lincoln’s Inn) and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, with over 18 years’ experience in legal practice and country expertise on Bangladesh, specializing in political, religious, ethnic, and social group persecution, human rights, and rule of law issues.

C. Christine Fair is a Professor in the Security Studies Program within Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. She previously served as a senior political scientist with the RAND Corporation, a political officer with the United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan in Kabul, and a senior research associate at the United States Institute of Peace.  Her most recent book is In Their Own Words: Understanding Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (Hurst/Oxford University Press, 2018/2019).  She has authored, co-authored and co-edited several books, including Fighting to the End: The Pakistan Army’s Way of War (Oxford University Press); Pakistan’s Enduring Challenges (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015), Policing Insurgencies: Cops as Counterinsurgents (Oxford University Press, 2014); Political Islam and Governance in Bangladesh (Routledge, 2010); Treading on Hallowed Ground: Counterinsurgency Operations in Sacred Spaces (Oxford University Press, 2008); The Madrassah Challenge: Militancy and Religious Education in Pakistan (USIP, 2008), and The Cuisines of the Axis of Evil and Other Irritating States (Globe Pequot, 2008), among others.  

She is a member of Women in International Security, International Studies… Read more

The Expert is a human rights researcher currently working as a Research Fellow at the University of Hull and as a consultant for human rights organizations. 

They have wide-ranging knowledge of historical and ongoing human rights violations globally, involving both civil & political and economic, social & cultural rights. 

The Expert’s current academic specialism focuses on the role of climate change and natural disasters in undermining the human rights of refugees and migrants. 

Associate Professor of Anthropology, Associate Chair of the Department of Cultural/Applied Anthropology Wake Forest University, USA

Steve Folmar is an Anthropologist on faculty at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. He launched his ethnographic research in Nepal in 1979 and continues to do so today. For the past 24 years, he has concentrated on the life experiences of Dalit people, mainly in Lamjung District, but also in Lalitpur, Syangja and Kaski. His work has included investigations of the contribution of Dalit people to Village Tourism, Dalit identity and livelihood, Dalit identity politics, mental health and the effects of the 2015 earthquake on Dalit lives. Most recently he has attempted to illuminate the health seeking challenges facing Dalit and other marginalized people in Lamjung and the barriers to healthcare facing them. That project has evolved into a modest but significant effort to raise funds to support their efforts to improve their health, livelihood and other aspects of life. Folmar's publications include: Identity Politics among Dalits in Nepal; Being, Becoming, Belonging: Revisiting the Effects of Caste and Disaster on the Mental Health of Dalits in Nepal and; Addressing Dalit Wellbeing through Counter Ritual (forthcoming… Read more

Dr. Shaul Gabbay completed a BA at Bar Ilan University and an MA at Tel-Aviv University. In 1991 he received a Presidential Fellowship from the U.S. to continue his studies. In 1995 he completed the PhD program at Columbia University in New York and received an invitation from the University of Chicago for a Post Doctoral program. In 1998 Dr. Gabbay returned to Israel to join the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. Professor Gabbay joined the University of Denver as the Director of the Institute for the Study of Israel in the Middle East at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies in 2001- 2010.  He continued his research at DU as a Senior Scholar until 2015 when he was appointed Director of the Global Research Institute.

His areas of expertise include Middle East cultures and societal norms,   Middle East conflicts, and human rights issues existing in Muslim societies.  He is regularly cited and acts as a commentator in national and international media such as the Associated Press, CBS, NBC, FOX and MSNBC.

I am an independent expert in country and asylum matters, focusing on Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and broader regions of the Middle East and South Asia. I have served as an expert witness since 2018 and bring a solid background in law and advocacy before Pakistan’s High Courts. Using a thorough and impartial approach, along with deep regional and language expertise, I analyse social, cultural, legal, and political issues related to asylum, immigration, and refugee cases throughout these areas.

I hold LLB (Hons) Degree from University of London, MSc Business Operations & Management from Glasgow Caledonian University, and Legal Practice Course Northumbria University Newcastle upon Tyne.

I work as litigation lawyer in Pakistan as Advocate High Courts since 2018. I have worked for numerous clients and represented them in Criminal, Civil, Labour, Commercial, Constitutional, Administrative Law, Public Law, cases in Provincial and Federal Courts.

Dr Ashraf Hoque is a social anthropologist with extensive fieldwork experience in Bangladesh and the UK. An expert on Bangladeshi society and culture, with particular expertise on Bangladeshi politics, human rights (gender and sexuality), religious minorities (Hindus, Christians, Atheists), blasphemy and apostasy, Islamic law, human trafficking, and the British-Bangladeshi community. He has written Expert Reports and provided oral evidence at immigration and asylum tribunals in over 400 cases, covering the following areas:

• The Awami League (including Bangladesh Chhatra League)
• Bangladesh Nationalist Party (including the Jatiotabadi Chhatra Dal)
• Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh (including Chhatra Shibir)
• Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh
• Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB)
• Ansarullah Bangla Team
• Hizb-ut-Tahrir
• Purbo Banglar Communist Party
• Persecution of Hindu and Christian minorities
• Persecution of Biharis
• Persecution of atheists, Humanists, and apostates
• Persecution of bloggers and journalists
• Gender relations (patriarchy, domestic violence, honour killings)
• Status of LGBTQI communities
• Human trafficking (labourers, women, children)
• Land disputes
• Mental illness
• Healthcare
• Blood feuds
•… Read more

My academic and professional qualifications include an undergraduate in Psychology (Academic year: 1997) and a post-graduate degree and training (Academic year: 1997-98 and 1999-2000) in Clinical Psychology. My clinical work is diverse and covers assessment and therapy for adults and minority ethnic groups for various conditions. As a multilingual psychologist with multi-cultural experience, I can assess efficiently and provide culturally emotional sensitive service.

My employment history involves working as a psychologist:

1. In the UK, I have been working in the UK for last 18 years. I used to work with Nafas Drug Treatment Centre (my post was funded by NHS), All Together Project (UK Gov.), PR UK and The UK Centre for Counselling & Psychotherapy, London School of Psychology and Health.

I have also gained international experience by working in India and Bangladesh.

2. In India, with People in Distress (PID). Currently, I am working as a Part time Faculty for Post Graduate Diploma in Health and Hospital Management with International Medical Centre.

3. In Bangladesh, with National Institute of Mental Health, Marie Stopes Clinic, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR, B) - a worldwide… Read more

The Expert is a UK-educated Barrister (NP) with extensive fieldwork experience in Bangladesh and the UK. He is a Lecturer at BAC International Study Centre based in Bangladesh. An expert on Bangladeshi society and culture, with particular expertise in Bangladeshi politics, human rights (gender and sexuality), religious minorities (Hindus, Christians, Atheists), he has conducted research, advisory and consultancy work in Bangladesh on the formal and informal justice systems, freedom of speech and other political rights, anti-corruption, violence against women, minority rights, etc. There is a strong network of experts all over Bangladesh to verify legal and other documents as required. In addition, the expert is available and able to give oral testimony before any court and tribunal if necessary to support his opinion.

Dr Md Tanvirul Islam is a medical doctor who is currently working in the NHS. He possesses genuine perspectives and relevant clinical insights in the context of immigrations of ethnic populations. The expertise has primarily stemmed from his frontline clinical experience in Bangladesh. In addition to his clinical competencies, he has a deep understanding of psychosocial and socioeconomic factors affecting the health and wellbeing of the people of Bangladeshi ethnicity.

Advocate of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh with a broad practice across corporate and commercial law, including intellectual property, media law, data protection, banking and finance, telecommunications, employment law, corporate litigation, and arbitration. I have a strong interest in politics and significant experience in matters relating to constitutional and civil rights, particularly freedom of expression and civil rights. My work includes advising major social media platforms and entertainment providers on content moderation, free speech, and regulatory compliance. Engaging closely with the political and socio-legal dynamics of Bangladesh, I offer informed, context-sensitive insights grounded in both legal expertise and practical experience.