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Experts on countries of origin by country

Alali, Ali

Dr. Ali is a leading authority on Middle Eastern law and politics, known for combining deep regional knowledge with sharp legal and political analysis. He works at the intersection of courts, policy, and academia, advising on some of the most complex and sensitive issues facing the region. His expertise spans constitutional law, conflict, governance, and international accountability, grounded in long experience with real-world cases and institutions. He is especially valued for his ability to explain complicated Middle Eastern realities clearly, persuasively, and with credibility.

Occupation: Dr. Ali is a distinguished Lead Expert Witness and Senior Independent
Consultant specializing in Middle Eastern law, politics, and
governance. With extensive experience advising international courts,
law firms, and organizations like the UN and World Bank, he expertly
navigates complex geopolitical and legal challenges. Known for
delivering clear, court-ready analysis grounded in deep regional
knowledge, he bridges law, politics, and history with precision. As a
Professor of Law and Politics at the American University of Beirut, Dr.
Ali shapes the next generation of scholars while influencing global
policy discussions. His unique blend of academic insight and practical
expertise makes him an invaluable asset… Read more
Countries of expertise: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Yemen

Andakian, Isaac

Goal-focused, strategic planner, and passionate leader with extensive experience implementing effective, global strategies to stabilize communities through capacity building, promoting human rights and democratization, and amplifying the value of communication. Skilled in collaborating with all members of the organization to build bridges across ideological divides, trusted to tailor language, tone, style, and format to match the audience. Passionate educator with two years’ experience as a High School Principal. Proactively pursues the development and execution of ethical leadership, personnel management, and clear research/discovery goals with comprehensive plans delivering measurable impact to in-house operations. 

An accomplished expert in Lebanese, Levantine, and MENA law, politics, and culture, Dr. Isaac Andakian brings extensive experience and a proven track record in political advisory roles. From 2001 to 2009, Dr. Andakian served as a trusted senior political adviser to two members of the Lebanese Parliament and a minister in the Lebanese cabinet. Over nine years, he counseled the Armenian Orthodox Community Court of Lebanon and the Municipality of the City of Anjar, Lebanon, from 2003 to 2012.

During Dr. Andakian’s… Read more

Occupation: Academia
Countries of expertise: Armenia, Iran, Lebanon, Libya, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Syria, United Kingdom, United States of America

Gabbay, Shaul

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.

Occupation: Muslim World Expert
Countries of expertise: Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Djibouti, Egypt, Gaza Strip, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mongolia, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, West Bank, Yemen

George, Alan

Academic with expertise on many countries in the Middle East; has extensive experience providing expert reports, including nationality assessment and document authentication reports.

Occupation: Consultant, writer, journalist. Former Senior Associate Member, St Antony’s College, Oxford University and former Senior Visiting Research Fellow in the Institute of Middle Eastern Studies at London University’s King’s College.
Countries of expertise: Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Syria, Yemen

Hafidh, Dr Hasan

The Expert is a Lecturer in Comparative Politics and International Relations of the Middle East. 

Occupation: Lecturer in Comparative Politics of the Middle East (Gulf Specialism), Expert of Islamic Countries
Countries of expertise: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Yemen

Laizer, Sheri J

Extensive experience in expert reports on all the countries listed, and also in particular, Kurds in country of origin and diaspora

Occupation: Author
Broadcast journalist since 1985 specializing in the Near East; photographer; political commentator, Middle East country of origin specialist
Countries of expertise: Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Syria, Turkey

Miles, Hugh

Hugh Miles is an Arabic and French speaking journalist who has been living in Cairo for most of the past 20 years researching and writing about all aspects of Arab society and culture. Since 2004 Miles has covered news in North Africa and the Middle East region professionally for diverse international media including the BBC, Al Jazeera, New York Times, Telegraph, Guardian, London Review of Books, Mirror, Mail, Sun and many others. He is a contributor to the Global Organized Crime Index designed to assess levels of organised crime in 193 UN member states and gives regular, ongoing training sessions to the UK FCDO about organised crime in the Middle East as well as, separately, the media environment in the Middle East.

Miles is the founder of Arab Digest, an independent UK ltd. media company specialising in Arab affairs. Arab Digest is an online private members club where business leaders and regional experts discuss the latest developments in the Middle East and North Africa each day. Paying members include the United Nations, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, The Economist, Oxford University, King’s College London University, Princeton University, BAE, Chevron and many more. 

Occupation: Author, Journalist and Consultant
Countries of expertise: Algeria, Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates

Mohamed, Usman B.

I am an international practitioner working across Africa and the Middle East, supporting complex cross-border and regional matters. My work is grounded in practical experience, cultural awareness, and careful judgment in sensitive situations.

Occupation: I divide my professional time between Africa and the Middle East, maintaining sustained engagement across both regions rather than working through short or isolated assignments. Moving regularly between countries allows me to stay closely connected to regional
realities, cross-border dynamics, and the everyday conditions that shape sensitive individual and institutional cases. This ongoing presence has given me practical familiarity with differing legal systems, administrative processes, and cultural norms, as well as an understanding of how these systems interact across borders.
Working across Africa and the Middle East in parallel has shaped my expertise into an integrated, comparative perspective. Time spent across the Horn of Africa, East and North Africa, and Southern… Read more
Countries of expertise: Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Oman, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Nasr, Hatem

CEO and founder at Xsolutions Ltd, is an experienced advocate in the appellate court of Egypt. With over 12 years of practice, they specialize in various legal areas, including Egyptian Civil Law, human rights, domestic abuse, trade regulations, criminal law, and Sharea (Islamic Law). They collaborate closely with lawyers, judges, and the Ministry of Interior on national security and civil registration cases. Additionally, they provide reports related to human rights, asylum, gender violence, and political persecution.

Occupation: CEO and founder at Xsolutions Ltd
Countries of expertise: Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates

Rushchenko, Dr Julia

Criminologist and gender expert with over 15 years’ experience advising the United Nations, academia, and international organisations on gender justice, conflict sensitivity, social inclusion, and the protection of vulnerable populations across Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Ukraine, and the wider Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia. Specialist in gender-based violence, policing and security services, prisons and the criminal justice sector, women’s and children’s rights, and victim-centred approaches. Demonstrated ability to operate in politically sensitive and fragile contexts and to author reports for ministries, private sector clients, and UN entities. Fluent in Arabic and Ukrainian. 

Occupation: International Consultant and Researcher
Countries of expertise: Algeria, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan

Tushar, Md Solaiman

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 "LexAria and Jurists" (link : https://lexariaandjurists.com/) , and President 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.

As a practicing Advocate of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, the expert is legally qualified to verify any legal documents including case, GD, judgments and other relevant documents, and check records from the government office of Bangladesh including Courts and Tribunals unless restricted by the law or relevant office. 

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… Read more

Occupation: Barrister-at-Law, Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh, Researcher, Journalist, and Columnist.
Countries of expertise: Afghanistan, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bolivia, China, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Georgia, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, Maldives, Mexico, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Korea, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zimbabwe

Zagud, Dr. Abduslam

Dr Zagud holds an intensive research experience on international public law, international human rights law, international relations and immigration law. 

Dr Zagud takes instructions on all Arab cases from: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

He maintains his expertise in all legal matters related to Arab nationals including cases pertaining to asylum, immigration, family and crime. Dr Zagud writes expert reports on all legal matters as well as nationality matters, languages, blood feuds, honour killing, domestic violence, risk of return and Islamic law.

His expertise centres around the people with whom he shares cultural understanding, languages, religious beliefs, and numerous national characteristics.

 

Cases undertaken

The Expert has experience in providing Country of Origin reports and analyses, he also provides documents authentication reports on various legal proceedings for clients in the UK and internationally. he is mostly instructed in following cases:

Arab legal and judicial systems. Socio-culture norms. Tribal dynamic. Blood Feuds Internal… Read more
Occupation: Expert with legal and interpreting/translation expertise attained in the United Kingdom
Countries of expertise: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen