Experts on countries of origin by country

Mayilvaganan, M., PhD is an Independent Analyst and Director of Center for Human Security and International Affairs (CHSIA). His research interests focus on political, strategic and security issues concerning South and Southeast Asia, Indo-Pacific region, Borderlands and the Non-Traditional Security Issues. 

Prior to this, Dr. Mayil was an Associate Professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bengaluru, India, where he oversaw research projects on the Indo-Pacific, Borderland studies, Non-Traditional Security Challenges (such as Migration, Refugees, Climate Change, & Public Health, etc.), Human Rights & Humanitarian Issues, and World Politics in general. He was also a Visiting Senior Lecturer at the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, India, where he taught South Asia in International Relations, Modern Warfare, and International Politics. Other positions he held included Associate Fellow at the Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA), New Delhi, India, with a focus on Sri Lanka, and Research Associate at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS), New Delhi, India, with an emphasis on Kashmir. Additionally, he spent sometime as a researcher in Canada and the U.S.. 

He holds a PhD degree from the School of… Read more

Felix Padel was born in London and educated at Oxford University (BA/MA in Classics, Diploma and D.Phil in Social Anthropology) and the Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University (M.Phil in Sociology, and PhD affiliation).

He is the author of several influential books, including Sacrificing People: Invasions of a Tribal Landscape (1995/2010) on colonial rule over Adivasis, and Out of This Earth: East India Adivasis and the Aluminium Cartel (with Samarendra Das, 2010/2020) on the mining industry’s impacts.

From 2010 to 2018, he held academic positions in India, including at the Institute of Rural Management (Anand, Gujarat), the Indian Institute of Health Management Research (Jaipur), and as a Visiting Professor in North-eastern Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University (Delhi).

In addition to academic work, he teaches and performs a wide range of music and is based in southwest Wales, UK.

Dr. Imranali Panjwani is the Head of Diverse Legal Consulting, UK (www.diverselegal.com) and a Lecturer in Law at Anglia Ruskin University in Chelmsford, Essex. He has the unique combination of being a lawyer and academic having lived and worked in the UK, Middle East and Australia. His country expert reports draw upon primary country and theological sources with stringent analysis of evidence, law and language. He resides in the UK.

Dr. Beth Prosnitz is a sociologist with over ten years’ experience in applied research. She is an expert on gender, development, land tenure, and peacebuilding Nepal. Her work has been published in edited volumes and high-impact journals, including the Journal of Peasant Studies. Dr. Prosnitz is passionate about using her knowledge to advance equitable societies. Currently, she holds a postdoctoral research associate position at Washington State University and teaches at Diablo Valley College. 

Area of expertise: The Expert, who is based in India, has served as an expert witness for over 20 years and prepared numerous expert reports/opinions on a range of issues for Legal Practitioners, Barristers, Solicitors, Attorneys, Tribunals and Courts including (but not limited to) those on Indian Laws on Citizenship and Nationality, The Indian Visa regime and OCI cards, Issues faced by a British national married to an Indian spouse on being relocated to India, Internal relocation, Treatment of minorities in India including Muslims, Christians and those from other religions, Rise of Hindu fundamentalism in India, Extradition proceedings from the UK to India, Legal issues concerning Law and Society in India, Mirror orders, Matrimonial proceedings, Interpretation of statutes, Bigamy, Single parent custody, Property and asset valuation, Official and personal/customary laws of India on marriage, divorce and adoption, Status of religious/ethnic minorities, Status of single and divorced women in India, Laws applicable to Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs, Implications of foreign court orders before Indian courts, effecting warrant and summon service, Ground investigation and verification work done to check the veracity of Indian documents and claims of asylum applicants in the UK,… Read more

Dr Ranjan is a Sociologist specialising in responsible recruitment, migrant rights, and social policy advocacy across South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Gulf with extensive experience in human rights, migration, and labor issues. Currently, serving as the South Asia Regional Coordinator for the Institute for Human Rights and Business, focusing on the Migrant Workers Programme and the Responsible Recruitment Register. As a Country of Origin Expert, provides in-depth reports on human rights challenges in multiple countries, including Bangladesh, India, and Nepal. Holds part-time roles as a Senior Research Fellow at both the International Institute for Migration and Development and the Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism, contributing to project implementation and strategic development. Formerly an Assistant Professor at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, where key projects on labor migration were led. Proficient in various research methodologies and data analysis tools, with advanced skills in documentation, presentation, and video editing software. Committed to addressing complex human rights issues, including discrimination, trafficking, and safe migration practices.

Dr Devanik Saha is a Lecturer in Public Health at the University of Greenwich, London. Previously, he was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at University of Essex working on migration, gendered violence and mental health. He holds a PhD from the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex.  His areas of expertise are gender, global public health, mental health, migration and refugee health, and political economy. He is also a prolific columnist having written on Indian politics, Hindu nationalism and public policy for prominent media outlets in India. He is also a recipient of the Global Talent Visa by the UK government, wherein he has been endorsed as an exceptional talent in the field of Global Health and Development. He has worked and consulted for different organizations such as Tetra Tech International, Duke NUS Medical School, BBC Media Action, UNICEF India, World Bank and other organizations.  In 2024, he was selected as Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, London. He is also a Trustee and Board Member, Results UK, a charity focused on global health advocacy. He also advised the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) UK on various global health issues such as health systems strengthening, locally led development and emerging… Read more

The Expert has completed over 3,000 expert witness reports on Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan and Malaysia since 2005, primarily for the UK courts but also in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA.  This has also included cases on terrorism and extradition. Oral expert evidence in all recent Sri Lankan Country Guidance cases from LP (2007) to KK & RS (2020).

Most recent one month research visit to Sri Lanka in March 2022 (Northern and Eastern Provinces).  It is usual to visit Sri Lanka and select countries in Asia each year for at least a month.  Strong emphasis on fieldwork and interviews with officials and in-country experts and focus upon risk and vulnerability on return.

Also, expertise on India, especially Tamil Nadu and Khalistan and LGBTQ issues generally.  Recent expert witness on high profile extradition cases in Hong Kong, London and New York.  Research visits to India, Pakistan and Malaysia are planned for 2023. 

Extensive field work and publications record in India from 1983, including my PhD on India’s defence industry and security sector (1988) and two year tenure at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies/United Nations University (Delhi) (1983-85).

Expert witness research trip planned for… Read more

Dr. Tran Thi Lan Anh (PhD in Law) has worked as a senior official for the Vietnamese Government. Expert holds PhD in Law from the School of Law, University of Leeds and worked as post-doctoral researcher on human rights here.

Dr. Tran Thi Lan Anh is also an expert on various aspect of Vietnam in include the socio-economic system, legal regime, human rights, political regime, women and children, and human trafficking. This expert has written many expert reports and made numerous appearances at the court as an expert witness.

The Expert is a Barrister-at-Law of England and Wales. The Expert is a practicing Advocate of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. He holds the position of Head of Chambers at "Justice for All', with nearly a decade's experience in legal practice. The expert regularly moves before the Supreme Court of Bangladesh for various matters including Writ (Judicial Review), Criminal and Civil Appeal and Revision, Bail Petition, Intellectual Property, Company Matter, Inheritance, Public Interest Litigation, Muslim Personal Law,  Succession Law,  Hindu Law, etc.

Parallel to his legal pursuits, the expert is the Legal Affairs and Political Editor of The Daily Campus and columnist. Accumulatively, he possesses over 18 years of sustained experience as a Journalist in Bangladesh, having written extensively on a broad range of issues, including human rights, the criminal justice system, politics, education, health, mental health, and international laws.

The Expert is an academic specialist in the politics and international relations of South Asia, & the Middle East with almost two decades of experience studying the region. The Expert has conducted research, advisory, and consultancy work in Bangladesh on the formal and informal justice systems, freedom of speech and… Read more

The Expert is a sociologist and religious studies expert with specialisation in Asia and the Middle East. He has authored over 150 subject-specific expert legal reports concerning human rights, asylum and terrorism cases. The Expert has spent several years in the field, carrying out research both in Britain and abroad, enabling him to generate expert reports on the country conditions of asylum applicants. The Expert has been involved in several cross-cultural research projects in the private and public sector. As an expert in South Asia, he spent several years conducting extensive fieldwork across South Asia. In Pakistan, he worked alongside local politicians and social workers, gaining considerable insight into national and local political and legal structures in Pakistan. This makes him a regional expert of South Asia and the Muslim world, especially related to religion, society, culture and politics. He is a peer-reviewed member of the academic community and currently a Senior Lecturer in the School of History, Philosophy and Social Science at Bangor University. He has authored three books: (1) Radicalism Unveiled (Routledge, 2013); (2) Segregated Britain: Everyday Life in Muslim Enclaves (Peter Lang, 2020); (3) Leaving Islamism (Peter Lang, Forthcoming).

Lesley Jo Weaver, PhD, MPH, is an academic expert in medical anthropology, global health, mental health, race, gender, chronic diseases, food insecurity, and homelessness. Her research focuses, broadly, on the social production of health and illness. In the US, Weaver's federally funded research addresses the ongoing crisis of houselessness in the Pacific Northwest by exploring stress and health among people living with insecure housing. In India, Weaver’s federally funded research explores how the day-to-day management of type 2 diabetes shapes North Indian women’s abilities to participate in social roles considered appropriate for women of their age, class, and caste groups. She also studies how South Indian women explain and understand distress, and what they do when they are so stressed that they need to seek help. In Brazil, Weaver’s work has examined how food insecurity influences physical and mental wellbeing. In addition to this fieldwork, Weaver co-hosts and co-produces the academic podcast Speaking of Race, a longstanding program that explores the history and present-day reverberations of scientific racism around the world.

Currently working as an Assistant Professor and Assistant Director, Centre for Public Interest Law at O.P. Jindal Global University in India. The Expert teaches courses on international law, human rights, and citizenship. Their work addresses issues of asylum, refugee status, nationality/citizenship, and statelessness. Their latest engagement has been in the case of R v Budlakoti (Superior Court of Ontario, Canada) where they provided a legal brief on Indian citizenship, immigration, and human rights law.

The Expert is a Visiting Professor at the Université Catholique de Lille where they teach a Master’s course on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and a guest lecturer at the University of Edinburgh where they teach a module on citizenship law in India. The Expert also serves on the Advisory Group of the organisation Nationality for All to form a regional alliance on nationality and statelessness.

Prior to this, they assisted Afghan refugees in New Delhi with the UNHCR asylum applications and worked with human rights organisations.