The Expert is a Lecturer in Comparative Politics and International Relations of the Middle East.
Nazifa Haqpal is a former Afghan diplomat, journalist, and PhD candidate in Law at SOAS University of London. She has extensive expertise in human rights, Islamic and customary law, and gender issues, with a particular focus on Afghanistan and Pakistan. Her expertise is informed by her doctoral research and extensive experience preparing and assessing Country of Origin (COI) reports and documentation. She is also an Associate Member (Practising Category) of the Academy of Experts, specialising as a Country-of-Origin Expert.
Dr. Harding earned a Ph.D. in International Studies from the University of Miami with specializations in Latin American Politics, Foreign Policy Analysis, and International Relations. His major professor and dissertation chair was the late Dr. Enrique Baloyra, a renowned Cuba-born scholar. Dr. Harding has held full-time academic appointments in Virginia, Alabama, and most recently Georgia, where he is the Professor of Political Science at Valdosta State University. He is the author of three books and several book chapters as well as over a dozen journal articles. Dr. Harding has been an invited presenter on Latin American politics in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. He has been a federally recognized asylum expert since 2018, working for asylum attorneys throughout the United States as well as the UK and and the Netherlands.
Dr Jawad Hassan Zadeh is an Expert Witness with experience of working in Afghanistan’s and Pakistan’s affairs. As of February 2022, he has prepared 1,128 expert reports for over 200 law firms and non-legal organisations based in France, Greece, Netherlands, Slovenia, Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States of America. The Expert provides three services concerning cases from Afghanistan (1) country of origin expert opinions on human rights, culture, ethnic groups, religions, laws, government and non-state actors (2) conducts forensic examination of all types of documents originating from Afghanistan (3) interviews the ‘disputed nationality’ claimants from Afghanistan with a view of producing linguistic and nationality of the disputed clients.
The expert provides country expert reports for Pakistan, conducts nationality assessment interviews for Pakistani nationals whose nationality and origin are disputed and verifies the authenticity of Pakistani documents.
Marta Havryshko is a Dr. Thomas Zand Visiting Assistant Professor in Holocaust Pedagogy and Antisemitism Studies at the Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Clark University. She teaches courses on antisemitism and racism in the modern world and on gender, war, and genocide in Eastern Europe. Her recent publications include a book, "Overcoming Silence: Women's War Stories (2018), and book chapters and articles on gender, WWII, and the Russo-Ukraine war. She has conducted numerous expert interviews with the media and is a columnist in Berliner Zeitung on politics, war, and society in Ukraine.
John Heathershaw is Professor of International Relations at the University of Exeter. His research addresses conflict, security, and development in global politics, especially in Central Asia. He is author of Post-Conflict Tajikistan (Routledge, 2009), Dictators Without Borders (Yale, 2017), The UK’s Kleptocracy Problem (Chatham House, 2021) and over 30 peer-reviewed journal articles including in International Studies Review, the European Journal of International Relations, the Journal of International Relations and Development, the Review of International Studies, and the Journal of Democracy. John is currently the principal investigator of a research project which seeks to identify the characteristics of kleptocratic enabling networks via an analysis of the data of the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. In 2021/22, he was a senior fellow of British Academy studying relations between postcommunist elites and British professional service providers.
Heathershaw has previously been on the faculty of the American University in Central Asia, the London School of Economics, Kings College London, and the University of Notre Dame. Prior to entering academia, Heathershaw was a research analyst at the Ministry of Defence… Read more
N'Deane Helajzen is a Serbian-Australian anthropologist and leading expert in human rights, gender equality, and women's empowerment, with a particular focus on conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence, international humanitarian law, refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs), ethnic conflict, and genocide. She is the founder and director of Ethnovision, a storytelling agency based between Belgrade and Sarajevo, dedicated to amplifying the voices of marginalised communities.
With over 25 years of experience, N'Deane has worked in 32 countries—primarily post-conflict regions across the Asia-Pacific, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe. Her expertise spans advising governments, multilateral agencies, and international organisations on refugee issues, minority rights, and inter-ethnic relations, offering practical, strategic insights informed by years of hands-on experience.
N'Deane has also contributed expert country reports for asylum and immigration cases, specialising in LGBTQI+ rights, political oppression, social discrimination, human trafficking, and sexual and gender-based violence. Her reports have been instrumental in successful refugee claims from the former Yugoslavia (Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and… Read more
Luke Heslop trained in anthropology at the University of Edinburgh, earning a PhD in 2015, and was a Fellow at the London School of Economics prior to joining Brunel University as a Lecturer in Anthropology. He has worked for many years in Sri Lanka and the Maldives. His ethnographic work engages with the lived experience of macro-economic and political change and global challenges in emerging economies.
He is a Director for the Policy Research Institute of South Asia (PRISA), based in London, UK, working on issues concerning inequality, well-being, and access to services for diaspora communities in the UK. He is also co-Director of the Brunel South Asia Studies Research Group, a multidisciplinary research group based in West London, focusing, among other things, on the large South Asian population in the West London region.
Luke Heslop is the lead anthropological consultant for Dar al Handasah, with research work focusing predominantly in the Middle East. Additionally, he is the Producer and Co-Producer of The Migration Menu, a podcast series that explores migration stories from South Asia to the UK through food.
Ethan Holden holds a Master of Laws (LLM) in International Human Rights Law from the University of Warwick, with specialised training in Islamic law and the regulation of artificial intelligence. He has conducted field research in South Asia, focusing on cases involving family law, international law, Islamic law, and conflict of laws within legally plural contexts. He also holds the Expert Witness Certificate awarded by the School of Advanced Study, University of London, providing specialist training in the preparation of expert evidence for judicial proceedings.
Current Position
Director of Research – Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) – Panthéon Sorbonne Paris 1, Institut des Science Juridique et Philosophique de la Sorbonne
2017 – current – Senior Research Fellow – Centre for Socio-Legal Studies – School of Law - University of Oxford
2016 – current – full professor with tenure (on Leave) – University of Padua
2016 – 2021 – PI of European Research Council project – Cultural Expertise in Europe (EURO-EXPERT)
Past Position
2018 – 2020, Senior Research Fellow – Centre for Socio-Legal Studies – University of Oxford
2013 – 2016, Professor of Behavioural Sciences (Anthropology) – Department of Behavioural Sciences and Karakoram Centre for Culture and Heritage
2013 – 2016, Dean of Faculty – Humanities and Social Sciences – Karakoram International University
Professor of Anthropology - LUMS
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
Bangladeshi Barrister-at-Law (UK) & Supreme Court Advocate specializing in human rights, constitutional law, and migration policy. Visiting Senior Fellow at LSE Law School with 16+ years' experience in legal reform, international policy (UN/ILO/DFID), and public interest litigation.
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.
I, Dr Serena Hussain, am an Expert Witness and Associate Professor at the Centre for Peace and Security, Coventry University. I specialise in providing country expert reports for UK First tier and Upper Tribunal proceedings, as well as international jurisdictions, focusing on risk on return and the credibility of claims in light of prevailing country conditions. My expertise is deeply informed by over 15 years of fieldwork in Pakistan and the disputed territories of Jammu and Kashmir, including intensive data collection within the Afghan-Pakistan border region (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), and examining the policies of right-wing majoritarian governance in India towards minorities.
Experience as an Expert: I provide comprehensive expert reports across a broad range of human rights and asylum categories, including:
Political Asylum & Persecution: Expert testimony regarding individuals under threat from non-state actors (including the Taliban); and those at risk of arrest and detention by Pakistani state authorities (including members of the PTI) and Indian authorities (including sedition charges). Security & Militancy: Drawing on my research into movements like the Tehreek-e-Taliban, I assess the localised risks of targeted violence and recruitment in the… Read moreDr Imam brings more than two decades of experience in mixed methods international social science practice, research, and teaching around the world, focusing on East and West Africa, South Asia, USA, and Central Asia. Her interests involve research, development, and instruction on advanced issues of human rights, international conventions on human, civil, and political rights, and against torture; police service, judicial and quasi-judicial institutions, and persecution; grievance redressal arrangements; gender analysis, gender equality, gender-based violence, forced marriages, and sexual abuse; child abuse, child marriages, and violence against children; climate-related issues; and more. She has written books and scholarly articles about public administration, employing quantitative data and qualitative streams of historical changes in socioeconomic, judicial, political, and administrative institutions.
Her work employs innovative research methodologies, focusing on getting to the crux of socio-cultural and institutional situations to deliver efficient solutions that take into account complex dynamics involving human rights, child rights, gender equality, sustainability, and other such standards, in diverse socio-political contexts.
Dr. Muhammad Kamaldeen Imam-Tamim is a distinguished legal scholar and educator specializing in the areas of family law, legal pluralism and intersection of law and religion. He has also done several research works bordering on issues of social justice. His Ph.D. thesis navigated these themes while exploring the strength of customary law and religious law over formal laws therefore making him work with locals with cultural and religious biases. He has also taught courses that espouses the principles revolving around these themes for decades at the University of Ilorin where he is currently an Associate Professor. He combines experiences as a Solicitor, Law Attorney and Academic Legal Researcher. In addition to his academic role, Dr. Imam-Tamim is actively involved in various professional organizations, including the Commission on Legal Pluralism and the Comparative Law Society of Nigeria. As an alumnus of the Harvard Law School Institute for Global Law and Policy, he brings a global perspective to his work, particularly in addressing complex socio-legal issues faced by communities, including those related to immigration and asylum support.
His expertise aligns with Communitology's mission to provide informed support for refugees and asylum seekers,… Read more
Rico Isaacs is a Professor of International Politics at the University of Lincoln and non-resident visiting professor at Riga Stradinš University. His research concerns the relationship between culture and politics with a focus on how this appears in authoritarian, nationalist and populist politics with a specific focus on the post-communist space, especially Central Asia. He is the author Political Opposition in Authoritarianism (Palgrave 2022), Film and Identity in Kazakhstan (Bloomsbury 2018) and Party System Formation in Kazakhstan: Between Formal and Informal Politics (Routledge 2011), as well as authoring several edited volumes, including the Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Central Asia (Routledge 2021) and a Critical Reader in Central Asian Studies (Routledge 2022). He also co-authored an introduction to Politics textbook and has published widely in leading peer-reviewed journals. He is also currently serving as editor of the leading peer-reviewed journal within the field of Central Asian Studies, Central Asian Survey.
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.