Experts on countries of origin by country

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:

Dr 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.

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.

I am an internationally recognized Balkan Expert Witness, Albania Country Expert, and Western Balkans geopolitical specialist, providing authoritative expert testimony, country condition reports, and strategic analysis for courts, law firms, governments, international organizations, and media worldwide. With advanced expertise in international law, political science, international relations, human rights, security, and Balkan geopolitics, complemented by legal studies at the University of Oxford, internship with NATO Innovation Hub on policy initiatives, and participation in European Union election and governance conferences, I provide independent, objective, and evidence-based analysis on Albania, Kosovo, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and the wider Western Balkans. My expertise supports asylum and immigration proceedings, international litigation, arbitration, political risk assessments, human rights cases, and complex legal disputes, making me a trusted authority for clients seeking a Balkan Expert Witness, Albania Country Expert, Kosovo Country Expert, Western Balkans Consultant, Country Conditions Expert, Balkan Political Analyst, Southeast Europe Specialist.

Akin Iwilade is currently Senior Lecturer (Associate professor) in African Studies at the University of Edinburgh. He holds a doctorate in International Development from the University of Oxford. His research has addressed various areas of politics and society in Africa, including cultural anthropologies of violence, regional security in West Africa, and the exploration of human rights, social services and everyday life in Africa more generally. His work is both empirically and conceptually grounded, with regular fieldwork conducted in countries including Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Gambia and Liberia. He is widely published and also serves as editor of leading journals in the field of African Studies, including Critical African Studies and Canadian Journal of African Studies.

I am a doctoral researcher in linguistic and legal anthropology at the Department of Culture, Communication and Media (CCM), University College London; native speaker of Arabic language with expert technical knowledge of Kuwait’s and Iraq’s cultures and sub-dialects; and with hands-on experience assessing and providing expert evidence on claims of persecution pertinent to arbitrary deprivation of nationality and fundamental rights in Kuwait.  My key areas are society, culture, laws and politics of Kuwait, on which I conducted numerous studies and wrote reports that were commended by legal practitioners and judges as well measured. In my capacity as a country expert of Kuwait, I draw on formal training as Expert Witness at the Refugee Law Initiative; training in Forced Migration Studies at the University of Oxford’s Refugee Studies Centre; and lived experiences as a stateless (Bidoon) Kuwaiti who has been recognised as refugee in the UK on grounds of the 1951 Refugee Convention. My qualifications and approach as a country expert of Kuwait have been accepted by both the UK Government and the Immigration and Asylum Tribunal.

Tariq Jahan is a PhD researcher in International Relations at the University of St Andrews (UK), specializing in conflict, terrorism, and strategic communication in Afghanistan. His research focuses on how state and non-state actors—including the Taliban, the former Afghan government, and international forces—have used narratives, propaganda, and information control during Afghanistan’s post-2001 conflict. His work draws on extensive primary materials, academic research, and qualitative interviews with practitioners, officials, and analysts.

Tariq has professional experience in strategic communications and policy analysis and has worked closely with Afghan and international stakeholders on issues of security, extremism, governance, and civic space. He provides country-of-origin analysis for asylum and refugee cases, offering independent, evidence-based expert opinion on political risk, persecution, and conflict dynamics in Afghanistan. He is fluent in English, Pashto, and Dari, with working knowledge of Urdu. 

The Expert is an analyst and researcher based in Istanbul since 1989. His special areas of interest are leftist, Kurdish and Islamist movements and organizations, religious and ethnic minorities, rightist organizations, political Islam, human rights, security issues and civil-military relations.

Michelle Johnson is Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. A cultural anthropologist specializing in religion and ritual in West Africa and the contemporary African diaspora (i.e., West African immigrants in Europe and the United States), she has conducted extensive fieldwork in Guinea-Bissau and with Guinean immigrants in Portugal. She has held grants from the Social Science Research Council, the U.S. Department of Education (Fulbright-Hays), and the Institute for Citizens &; Scholars (formerly the Woodrow Wilson Foundation). Her articles have appeared in the Journal of Religion in Africa, African Studies Review, Anthropology Quarterly, and Food and Foodways. She is author of Re-making Islam in African Portugal: Lisbon - Mecca - Bissau (Indiana University Press, 2020) and co-author (with Edmund “Ned” Searles) of Reciprocity Rules:Friendship and Compensation in Fieldwork Encounters (Lexington Books, 2021). She provides COI expert information and testimony on asylum cases pertaining to West Africa and the contemporary African diaspora on the topics of female genital cutting, arranged (forced) marriage, and religious persecution and freedom. She teaches courses on… Read more