Experts on countries of origin by country

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

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.

Region Covered: South & Central Asia — including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan.

Country Witness Expert on South & Central Asia, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan.

Get a Sample Report, Expert CV, and Free Consultation.
Responds to inquiries within 1 hour and delivers reports within 1 week.
Adheres to the minimum rate that meets Legal Aid requirements.

Expert at the international agency The Human Rights:
We provide expert witness reports for asylum cases worldwide, covering human rights violations, political persecution, and systemic oppression. Our reports are trusted by lawyers, courts, and immigration authorities in the UK, USA, Canada, and the EU.

C. Julia Huang is until recently a Professor of Anthropology at National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan. Huang’s specialty includes religion, gender, and migration. She has done fieldwork in Taiwan, Malaysia, the United States, and shorter periods of research in Singapore, Vietnam, Japan, and China.  Huang has published articles in the Journal of Asian Studies, Ethnology, Positions, Nova Religio, the Eastern Buddhist, and the European Journal for East Asian Studies. She is the author of Charisma and Compassion: Cheng Yen and the Buddhist Tzu Chi Movement (Harvard University Press, 2009) and a co-author of Religion and Charity: The Social Life of Goodness in Chinese Societies (co-authored with Weller and Wu)(Cambridge University Press, 2017).

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.

An experienced lawyer with in-depth expertise in the legal system of Bangladesh and the United Kingdom, specialising in ethnic groups, human rights, and immigration law.

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.

With a robust foundation in international relations, law, and political science, I am a distinguished expert witness specializing in Balkan affairs. My career is characterized by a deep commitment to understanding the intricate geopolitical dynamics and legal frameworks that shape this vibrant region. My academic pursuits culminated in a prestigious certification in Law from the University of Oxford, where I honed my expertise in international law, human rights, and cross-border legal issues. Professionally, I have collaborated with NATO on defense and international policy initiatives, providing valuable insights into Balkan geopolitics. My participation in European Union election conferences has allowed me to engage in high-level discussions on the political shifts affecting the region. Additionally, my roles as a Leasing Administrator and Legal Advisor have equipped me with practical experience in legal documentation and corporate governance. Driven by a passion for advancing understanding in the complex political landscape of the Balkans, I leverage my extensive education and practical experience to provide expert testimony and consultancy in this dynamic field.

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.

Lecturer in African Studies at the University of Edinburgh with extensive experience researching and writing about violent social groups and discrimination in selected African countries.  

I am a UCL social science researcher in the field of Applied and Socio-linguistics, focusing on how experiences and claims of people seeking asylum in the UK and Europe as stateless people of Kuwait (i.e., Bidoon Kuwaitis) are communicated and disputed. My research is (in)formed by my training in refugee and forced migration studies at the University of Oxford’s Refugee Studies Centre and my lived experiences as a Bidoon Kuwaiti person going through the UK asylum system and eventually being recognised as a refugee following a successful appeal in which I was found to be a witness of truth.

Frederica Jansz is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies in the UK. She is a journalist and writer who specializes on political, gender violence, and social justice issues. She was formerly the Editor-in-Chief of ‘The Sunday Leader’ newspaper in Sri Lanka and has over two decades of experience as a war correspondent, an investigative journalist, and frequent commentator on human rights abuses and war crimes. She covered Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict for two decades often reporting from the battle front. She has actively participated in journalist safety training and skills building exercises in Sri Lanka, Nepal and Pakistan. She was also a television host and anchor on weekly shows that focused on news, current affairs and social justice issues during her two-decade long career as a journalist in Sri Lanka. She continues to be seen as an authority on press freedoms in South Asia, speaking at global venues and being interviewed for television audiences.

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.

Country Witness Expert on East Asia, including China, North Korea, Mongolia, Vietnam, and Myanmar.

► Get a Sample Report, Expert CV, and Free Consultation.
► Responds to inquiries within 1 hour and deliver reports within 1 week.
► Adheres to the minimum rate that meets Legal Aid requirements.

Expert at the international agency The Human Rights:

We provide expert witness reports for asylum cases worldwide, covering human rights violations, political persecution, and systemic oppression. Our reports are trusted by lawyers, courts, and immigration authorities in the UK, USA, Canada, and the EU.

Winner of the Expert Witness Awards in the category of Best Immigration, Asylum & Refugee Expert Witness 2024

Michelle Johnson is Associate Dean of Faculty for the Social Sciences and Professor of Anthropology at Bucknell University. A cultural anthropologist specializing in religion and ritual in Africa and the contemporary African diaspora (i.e., Africans 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 also provides expert testimony on asylum cases pertaining to West Africa and the contemporary African diaspora on topics such as genital cutting, forced marriage, and religious persecution and freedom. She teaches courses on cultural anthropology, the anthropology of religion, African Studies, and the life course and was… Read more

Will Jones is a British academic who has been working on Central and Southern Africa, with a specialization in asylum, since 2007. He received his doctorate on refugees in Central Africa, particularly Rwanda, from the University of Oxford, where he later became a Departmental Lecturer in the Politics of Asylum at Oxford’s Refugee Studies Centre. He has also served as an Associate Professor at the University of Copenhagen’s Centre for Excellence in Global Mobility Law and is currently an Associate Professor at Royal Holloway, University of London.

Luca Jourdan (PhD) is Full Professor of Social and Political Anthropology at the University of Bologna. Member of the Italian Ethnological Mission in Equatorial Africa, since 2001 he has carried out a field research on youth and war, childhood crisis, informal economies and the frontier in North Kivu (Democratic Republic of Congo). He is currently carrying on a research on Eritrean refugees in Kampala and on the conflict between central government and traditional kingdoms in Kasese district.

Iranian Lawyer and PhD in Middle East international politics and law (Durham Univ) - with vast experience in producing expert reports on Iranian Law and the Judicial System; also available to comment on the authentication of legal and other official documents.