Independent international expert specialising in minority rights, women’s rights, and state violence in Iran, with over thirty years’ experience in research, documentation, and advocacy. Regularly instructed as an expert witness in asylum and immigration proceedings across the UK, EU, USA, and Canada. Recognised for impartial, evidence-based analysis of ethnic and religious minorities, Iranian legal frameworks, and risk on return, including state surveillance and political profiling. My work has informed domestic court determinations and contributed to reporting by UN Special Rapporteurs, international NGOs, and the European Parliament.
Expertise in Iranian politics and governance,
constitutional and penal codes,
the justice and prison systems,
and the treatment of ethnic and religious minorities.
Specialist knowledge of risk on return, including state surveillance practices, political and ideological profiling, and post-departure activity.
This includes assessment of gender-based persecution and risks faced by women,
gender-nonconforming individuals, and LGBTQ+ persons,
particularly where non-conformity with state-mandated religious and gender norms attracts criminalisation, coercive enforcement, or imputed political or moral offences.
Extensive experience documenting human-rights violations in line with international legal standards.
Prepared over 600 expert reports on human rights and country conditions in Iran for asylum and immigration cases before tribunals and courts in the UK, EU, USA, and Canada since 2000. Also consulted by UN Special Rapporteurs and major NGOs on research design, evidence-gathering, and policy analysis concerning human-rights violations in Iran.
- Publications:
- The Right to Life and Death Penalty in Iran: The Role and Responsibilities of the International Community (Editor, ACI, 2024).
- Baluchistan: Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All (Editor, ACI, 2024).
- Woman Life Freedom: Consequences of 45 Years of Islamic Revolution – Public Opinion Survey (Editor, ACI, 2024).
- The Future of Iran: Pathology of Iranian Opposition (Editor, ACI 2016)
- The Right to Life and Death Penalty in Iran (Editor, ACI 2014)
- “When Law Becomes Violence: Structural and Symbolic Harm in Iran’s Religious State,” Violence: An International Journal (forthcoming 2026).