Anderson Javiel Dirocie De León is an international lawyer, academic, and human rights advocate specializing in Public International Law, International Human Rights Law, and International Criminal Law. He serves as the Senior Legal and Policy Consultant at Columbia Global Freedom of Expression and is a PhD candidate in International Law at the Geneva Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies.

His professional experience spans multiple international courts and human rights bodies across three continents, including the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, and the International Criminal Court. Domestically, he served as Assistant Secretary to the President of the Electoral High Court of the Dominican Republic and as Secretary General (2020–2021) of the Latin American Council for International and Comparative Law Scholars (COLADIC-RD).

At Columbia Global Freedom of Expression, he previously worked as a Legal Researcher (2021) and later as a Legal and Program Consultant (2023–2025) before assuming his current role.

Beyond his legal practice, he is an independent member of the LGBTI+ Litigants Network of the Americas, where he also serves on its Legal Committee (2024–2026). He is a member of the Bar Association of the Dominican Republic and COLADIC-RD.

He is also active in academia, teaching a master’s-level course on Inter-American Protection of Human Rights at Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra and serving as an associate editor of the Latin American and Caribbean Journal of International Law.

His early engagement in international advocacy includes serving on UNFPA’s Youth Advisory Panel, which led to his appointment as Youth Delegate of the Dominican Republic to the Second Session of the Regional Conference on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (2015). In 2016, he became the first Latin American to be elected Student President of the International Law Students Association (ILSA), the organization responsible for administering the Philip C. Jessup International Moot Court Competition.

He holds an LL.M. from Harvard Law School (2023), an Advanced LL.M. in Public International Law from Leiden University (2018), and an LL.B. Summa Cum Laude from Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM) (2017).

He is fluent in Spanish, English, and French.

Reem Elshazly is an Egyptian-Palestinian lawyer and journalist. Beginning her journalism career at the age of 17, Reem has contributed to prestigious international media outlets as well as bold independent Egyptian media, with a particular focus on women’s empowerment throughout history. She played a pivotal role in an activism campaign that exposed corruption within the Egyptian Handball Federation and its discriminatory practices against women. This campaign resulted in the dismissal of the Federation’s board, the establishment of a Women’s National Handball team, and the recognition of female players as professional athletes.

In December 2023, Reem joined Columbia Global Freedom of Expression (CGFoE) following her involvement in “The Decisions of Meta’s Oversight Board As A Vehicle Towards Digital Justice” seminar. Since then, her work with CGFoE has centered on Meta’s Oversight Board decisions and the Arabic database.

Ritika Goyal is a human rights lawyer and policy researcher. She holds an LLM in Human Rights Law from the University of Nottingham (United Kingdom) and a B.A.LLB from the National University of Study and Research in Law (India). Since joining Columbia Global Freedom of Expression (CGFoE) in 2020, Ritika has authored over 100 case analyses. She has been the lead researcher on UNESCO-sponsored projects at CGFoE, focusing on themes such as freedom of expression, the right to privacy, COVID-19, disinformation, and elections. Her research at CGFoE has been instrumental in judges’ training programs organized by UNESCO and in supporting the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression. Beyond this, her research interests include mental health law, refugee law and the criminal justice system. She is currently a Research Consultant at Imkaan, London, where she reviews new legislations impacting mental health policy and the criminal justice system and drafts submissions to the UK government. Ritika regularly contributes to leading newspapers and digital news platforms in India highlighting human rights abuses. She has contributed to several research projects and collaborated with international experts, domestic and international NGOs, and research organisations.

Dr. Hawley Johnson is the Associate Director of Columbia Global Freedom of Expression. Since 2014 she has managed the development of the Case Law Database which hosts analyses of seminal freedom of expression court rulings from more than 130 countries.  Hawley has over twenty years of experience in international media development both academically and professionally, with a focus on Eastern Europe. From 2013-2014 she worked with the award-winning Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project to launch the Investigative Dashboard (ID), a joint effort with Google Ideas offering specialized databases and research tools for journalists in emerging democracies.  Previously, as the Associate Director of the Media and Conflict Resolution Program at New York University, she oversaw the implementation of over eight US government sponsored media development programs in eleven countries. In 2012, she completed her Ph.D. in Communications at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Her dissertation – a study of the evolution of media development policies in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo and Macedonia – was grounded in extensive field research in the region. She has a M.A. from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and a B.A. in International Affairs from the School of International Service at American University.

Estefanía Mullally is an Argentine lawyer, specializing in International Public Law at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA). She has been the Program Coordinator at Columbia Global Freedom of Expression since September 2023. Previously, she coordinated the Human Rights Center at UBA’s Law School (2020-2023) and was a professor of practical work on human rights and guarantees at the same university (2018-2023). She also worked at the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the City of Buenos Aires (2017-2023), designing and monitoring public policies with a gender perspective in the administration of justice, and training judicial officials on gender and diversity issues. 

Estefanía holds specializations in Public Policy and Gender Justice (Latin American Council of Social Sciences) and Gender and Law (UBA). She has completed postgraduate diplomas in Supranational Protection of Human Rights (Università degli Studi di Perugia), Theory and Practice of Regional Integration (University of Alcalá), Equality and Non-Discrimination (UBA), and Migrants and Refugee Protection (UBA).

She is currently the academic coordinator of the Diploma in “Right to freedom of expression” co-organised by the Human Rights Center (Law School, UBA), the Regional Office for South America of the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights, and the Center for Studies on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information of the University of Palermo.

Ibrahim Sabra, a Chevening Alumnus from Egypt, is a young scholar in AI governance, internet regulation, and digital rights. He is a dedicated advocate for responsible innovation that safeguards social justice and internet freedom, particularly within the Global South. He currently works as a research associate at the University of Vienna’s Department of Innovation and Digitalisation in Law, where he contributes to cutting-edge research, further solidifying his position as an aspiring expert in the dynamic field of technology law. Ibrahim has diverse experience with global and regional institutions, including Columbia University’s Global Freedom of Expression, the Berkman Klein Center, the Center for AI and Digital Policy, and Strathmore University’s Centre for IP and IT Law. Previously, he taught law at the British University in Egypt Faculty of Law, covering subjects such as human rights law, EU law, public international law, and legal research for undergraduates. Additionally, he taught cyberlaw and cybercrime to postgraduates. His active involvement in multiple initiatives focused on fostering mooting culture, clinical education, and practice-informed research in law schools stands out, notably his leadership in establishing the Moot Court Unit at the British University in Egypt’s Law Faculty.

Anastasiia started contributing to Columbia Global Freedom of Expression as a legal researcher in the spring of 2022: she analyzed Russian court cases concerning content moderation, disinformation, right-to-be-forgotten, and hate speech.

Previously, Anastasiia interned at PEN America’s Freedom of Expression Program, focusing on free speech advocacy in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. She later worked as a freelancer for the Daily podcast of the New York Times, helping the team create episodes on Russia, Ukraine, and the war.

Anastasiia is a research fellow at the Media and Journalism Research Center, where she published a report on Media Capture in Russia.

Anastasiia has an MA degree in International Relations from Central European University and is currently pursuing her MFA degree in nonfiction writing at Columbia University School of the Arts, hoping to blend advocacy and rigorous research into narrative writing.

Sarthak Gupta is an undergraduate law student [B.A.LLB (Hons.)] at the Institute of Law, Nirma University, Ahmedabad, India. His research interest lies at the intersection of Constitutional law, the Criminal Justice System, and International Human Rights Law focusing on, Anti-Discrimination law, Digital Constitutionalism, Freedom of Expression, Feminist & Queer Legal theories, and Reproductive Justice. He is working on his research i.e., ‘Project Engender and Constitutionalism’ on the analyses of contemporary Indian socio-legal issues from the Comparative Constitutional Law and IHRL approach.

Sarthak is a former Judicial Intern to the Chief Justice (now) Dr Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud, Supreme Court of India. In various capacities, he has worked with leading Indian and international research institutions including the United Nations International Law Commission, the Center for Criminal Administration Justice & Human Rights, and Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative. In the past, he has also served as an intern in the Chambers of many Indian lawyers including Constitutional lawyer Menaka Guruswamy, Criminal lawyer Rebecca John, and other legal research centers.

Currently, Sarthak serves as a writer and editor at the JURIST (online legal news & commentary website), University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.

Caroline James is a South African freedom of expression lawyer. Since 2022 she has been the advocacy coordinator for the amaBhugane Center for Investigative Journalism. She completed her M.A. at Queen’s University in Canada has BA(Hons) and LLB degrees from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. Her research interests are in constitutional and human rights law – particularly the way in which power is held to account. Caroline previously worked as the freedom of expression lawyer at the Southern Africa Litigation Centre in Johannesburg where she worked with lawyers and organizations in southern Africa litigating and advocating for the right to freedom of expression and association. Caroline has also worked as a judge’s clerk at the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg.

Mustafa Hammam is an Egyptian third-year law student at Ain Shams University. His academic excellence is exemplified by his outstanding performance, as he has consistently ranked among the top students with an overall GPA of 4.0. Mustafa’s achievements are complemented by his strong presence in international moot court competitions. Notably, he participated in the University of Oxford’s prestigious Price Media Law Moot Court Competition, where he was awarded Best Oralist of the regional rounds and qualified for the campus rounds held at Oxford. His dedication to the study of law earned him a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service to attend a program at the University of Hamburg, focusing on the intersection of law and economics.

Alongside his academic and moot court successes, Mustafa is actively involved in legal scholarship and leadership. He serves as the National Director of Egypt in the Federation of African Law Students, leading efforts to promote legal education and collaboration across the continent. As a Fellow at THE LAW magazine, he researches and helps refine articles and actively participates in organizing legal events to advance exchange among legal professionals.

Mustafa’s practical experience spans several top law firms in Egypt, including Matouk Bassiouny & Hennawy, Shalakany Law Office, Afifi Law Office in association with Dentons, and Al Feshawi & El Shazli, where he gained experience in corporate law, arbitration, and litigatory matters.

As a legal researcher with the Global Freedom of Expression team, Mustafa offers a solid academic background and practical legal experience, positioning him to effectively contribute to impactful initiatives and collaborate with fellow advocates.

Ratania Edawi, from Libya, is a third-year law student at the British University in Egypt. Her  focus is human rights, international law, and technology law. Ratania’s academic journey is marked by notable achievements, particularly in moot court competitions. She has  demonstrated exceptional skills in the IT Law National Moot Court Competition, where she secured first place across Egypt, by addressing complex issues at the intersection of data protection regulations and human rights. Her success continued with a first-place win in the MENA region at the Price Media Law Moot Court Competition by Oxford, leading to her qualification as an OCTA finalist and recognition for her work on AI regulations and human rights. She has recently participated in the African International Human Rights Competition, further showcasing her expertise in Rwanda.

In addition to her moot court success, Ratania’s commitment to global governance is evident through her role as Regional Director of North Africa in the Federation of African Law Students as well as her extensive participation in the Model United Nations. She has also been involved three times—twice as a delegate, earning Runner-Up Best Delegate honors, and once as Chair of the General Assembly, demonstrating her leadership and diplomatic skills. Her legal acumen is further highlighted by her performance in the Legal Debate Competition, where she was part of the runner-up winning team and received accolades as runner-up best oralist and best oralist of the final.

Ratania also represented Egypt in a human rights seminar with universities in London and Brazil. Her diverse skills and dedication make her a prominent figure in legal scholarship and global engagement.

Watheq Abu Deif is a dedicated and ambitious Lawyer who graduated from Ain Shams University, holding a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) with Honors from the English Section. With a strong foundation in both Egyptian and International Law, Watheq brings valuable experience in legal research, drafting, and analysis.

During his internships at leading law firms such as Bahaa-Eldin Law Office in cooperation with BonelliEredi, Badran Law Firm, Aldib Advocates, and Matouk Bassiouny & Hennawy, Watheq has contributed to a wide array of legal matters, including Corporate Law, Litigation, and Arbitration. His work spans conducting in-depth research on complex legal issues, drafting legal memorandums, and assisting in high-stakes corporate transactions.

In addition to his professional experience, Watheq has actively participated in prestigious moot court competitions, such as the Foreign Direct Investment International Arbitration Moot and the Price Media Law Moot at the University of Oxford, where he achieved significant success. His participation in these competitions has further refined his advocacy and dispute-resolution skills.

Fluent in both Arabic and English, Watheq is committed to delivering high-quality legal services and is eager to continue developing his expertise in the legal field. His dedication, attention to detail, and passion for the law make him a valuable asset to the team.

Lama is a Lebanese-American lawyer, member of the Beirut Bar Association. She is a Junior Associate in a law firm in Beirut, Lebanon, where her practice focuses on civil, criminal and corporate matters.

She was appointed in 2021 to assist the Accusation Bureau of the BBA in the case of the Beirut Port Explosion of August 4, 2020. The Bureau’s utmost determination is to ensure Human Rights for the victims of the explosion on a national and international level.

In 2018, Lama took part in the Inter-University program on International Criminal law and procedure with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which has broadened her horizon in this particular field. She has since focused her research on International Criminal Law and Human Rights. Her most recent research concerns the abolishment of impunity in International Law.

Farid Azzi is a legal researcher with a background in international law and human rights. Currently pursuing a Master’s in Diplomacy and International Security at Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, he also holds a Bachelor of Laws from the same institution focusing on contemporary issues in international public law.

Farid’s previous roles include working as a legal trainee at Azzi Law Firm and as a researcher at the Lebanese Center for Human Rights (CLDH). His work at CLDH involved examining human rights issues in Lebanon, promoting legal reform, and publishing research on political support for some minority communities.

Beyond his professional endeavors, Farid is actively involved in human rights advocacy, having organized workshops on the abolition of the death penalty and participated in conferences on Lebanon’s transition to a civil state.
With a passion for promoting justice and human rights, he hopes to continue to contribute his insights and research to the global discourse on freedom of expression.

Ilaria Fevola joined ARTICLE 19 in 2019 as legal officer focusing on transparency, the right to information, anti-corruption and sustainable development.

Previously, she worked for the Italian NGO Ossigeno per l’Informazione, an independent observatory that monitors threats to freedom of expression, attacks to journalists and news overshadowed by violence in Italy. She was also a legal intern at London-based MLDI (Media Legal Defence Initiative), where she supported the organization in providing legal defence to journalists and bloggers before international and regional courts. Previously, Ms. Fevola interned at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris in the Communication and Information sector, division of Freedom of Expression and Media Development. She mainly worked on events and projects implementing the UN Plan of Action for the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity. She had also worked as legal researcher at WAN-IFRA (World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers), focusing extensively on the balance between freedom of expression and privacy, the right to be forgotten and press freedom-related issues.

Ms. Fevola holds a master degree in Law from the University of Torino (Italy), with a master thesis on the issue of extraterritoriality and the jurisdictional challenges in the age of the Internet under public international and EU law. She has a particular interest in media law and human rights matters with a focus on international organizations. She has had the occasion of specialising in such domain by studying at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), the Harvard Law School and the University of Pretoria, South Africa. She is also member of the Journalists’ Safety Research Network hosted by the Centre for Freedom of the Media (CFOM) at the University of Sheffield (UK) and supported by UNESCO.

Olga is the Executive Directorate of Legal Affairs at Interpol in France.

Previously, Olga was a lawyer working for Media Defence, a London-based organisation taking press freedom cases before international bodies, regional courts, and the highest domestic courts across the world. Before that Olga spent four years working as a lawyer at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. She holds an LLM degree in Human Rights Law from the Queen Mary University of London. She has worked for the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).  

She is also a judge at the Oxford University Monroe E.Price Media Law Moot Court Competition and conducted a training on Journalism in the Digital Age for young journalists in the M100 Young European Journalists Workshop, which is part of the renowned annual international media conference M100 Sanssouci Colloquium taking place annually in Berlin.  

Olga is an alumna of the Oxford Internet Institute Leadership Academy and served as a member of the Council of Europe Working Group on the development of an online teaching course on cybercrime. She has been drafting reports on international law for the Oxford University Press since 2016.

Matías is a lawyer from Montevideo, Uruguay. He graduated from the University of the Republic in 2012 where he also obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Information Systems and IT Management. In 2020, he obtained his Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Intellectual Property with the Highest Honors from The George Washington University thanks to a Fulbright Scholarship.

Currently, Matías works as a legal consultant for national and international organizations in digital rights, telecommunications regulation, and governance. He is a Computer Law lecturer at the University of the Republic and has experience working as a technology policy analyst for the government and NGOs. 

Buse Karataş is a human rights lawyer and legal researcher. Her professional journey in human rights unfolded while working for the Freedom of Expression Association (“İFÖD”) in Turkey where she specialized in matters related to freedom of expression, media and Internet freedoms, and academic freedoms. Throughout her tenure, she represented various groups including independent media organizations, journalists, women journalists, academics, civil society organizations, human rights defenders in legal proceedings before the courts. Notably, her responsibilities encompassed litigating freedom of expression cases at both the Turkish Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). Furthermore, she actively engaged in the conduct of legal research and the submission of third-party interventions to pending ECtHR cases, as well as Rule 9.2 submissions to the Committee of Ministers concerning the implementation of ECtHR decisions.

She also holds a master’s degree in Public International Law with a specialization in human rights at Utrecht University in 2023. Her master’s thesis delved into the analysis of the compatibility of Meta’s Oversight Board as a grievance mechanism with the effectiveness criteria outlined in the United Nations Guiding Principles (UNGP). Her areas of particular interest encompass freedom of expression, media and Internet freedoms, civic freedoms, ECHR law, and the business and human rights. Additionally, she represented Utrecht University’s team in the 11th edition of the Helga Pedersen Moot Court Competition organised by ELSA, a partner of the Council of Europe, as the captain of the university team.

Kuberan Hansrajh Kumaresan is presently a Judicial Clerk to Tan Sri Nallini Pathmanathan at Malaysia’s apex court. He recently graduated from the Bar Course with High Distinction and holds a BA in Law from the University of Oxford. Kuberan has engaged extensively with international law, including co-authoring an amicus brief to the Indonesian Supreme Court on the duty to obtain Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) of indigenous peoples and conducting research at the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, where he assessed the compatibility of counterterrorism laws with freedom of expression guarantees. He is intent on becoming a strategic litigator who upholds the principles of freedom of expression.

Solomon Okedara, Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, is a practicing legal practitioner and Researcher with over ten (10) years post-call experience and outstanding expertise in Human Rights (with a special bias for Freedom of Expression & Digital Rights), Intellectual Property, International Business and International Law, having an unusual knack for excellence and matchless clients’ satisfaction with a view to delivering maximal results. Armed with a peerless ability in creative legal research and analysis, delivering impressive results in review of laws, legal principles and standards. Solomon is a partner at Solomon Okedara & CO (a firm of Barristers and Solicitors) and founded Expression Now (an organization committed essentially to defence of digital rights).

Solomon is a strategic litigation lawyer with a robust interest and proven expertise in Freedom of Expression, Digital Rights, Cybercrimes and Human Rights litigation. He is a 2016 Short Term Research Fellowship Recipient of International Center for Not for profit Law (ICNL), Washington DC. Solomon was a Finalist at the 2018 Global Freedom of Expression Prize of Columbia University in the city of New York.

Solomon obtained LLB from Olabisi Onabanjo University, Nigeria, Certificate in Private International Law, Hague Academy of International Law, the Netherlands and Certificate in Summer Program in International Development and Environment of Washington College of Law, American University, Washington DC. He is a Case Writer/Researcher for Global Freedom of Expression project of Columbia University in the City of New York.

Igor is a senior teaching and research assistant at the Banjaluka University, Faculty of Law (Bosnia and Herzegovina), where he obtained his LL.B as the best student in the generation. He holds LL.M. from the University of Belgrade and he is a Ph.D. candidate at the same university (researching on freedom of expression and the Internet). Igor passed the exam with distinction at the Summer school on European Integration, European Forum Alpbach in 2013, and the bar exam in 2020.

During his studies, he was awarded various local and international scholarships, including the Full Scholarship of the European Forum Alpbach (2013) and the Chevening Scholarship for Oxford Magister Juris graduate course in 2020/2021, which he declined due to the pandemic. Igor participated in various conferences, summer schools, and projects in the country and abroad.

As a supervisor at the Centre for Public Speaking “Institutio Oratoria”, Igor teaches students on public speaking and coaches students of the faculty’s moot-court team for human rights competitions. In 2018 he co-founded the Human Rights Week at the faculty and collaborates with international organizations and NGOs such as the Council of Europe and the OSCE Mission in B&H, being a member of the OSCE roster of local experts on ECHR. 

Igor acted as an adviser or a counsel in several cases before local courts related to human rights and constitutional law. The main areas of his research are human rights, ECHR, and international (public and private) law. 

Aleksandar Stevanović LL.M is a lawyer (attorney at law) and Research Associate at the Institute of Criminological and Sociological Research in Belgrade, Serbia, currently participating in the various projects related to anti-corruption mechanisms in the country and abroad. He has obtained LL.M. from the University of Belgrade where he is a Ph.D. candidate. He has attended Comparative Law study program at the University of Salzburg, Austria and has conducted study visit to Italian anti-corruption institutions as a member of OSCE mission in Serbia delegation. During his professional career he has published more than 30 scientific papers in the country and abroad, and co-edited several scientific monographs and has been dealing with a number of different private law and criminal law cases related to freedom of expression, defamation, slander, whistleblowing, SLAPP etc. His research focuses on whistleblowing and legal aspects of investigative journalism as a tools for combating corruption, freedom of expression within employment relationship, discrimination, legal aspects of political speech and lobbyng, and ECHR jurisprudence related to freedom of expression. Aleksandar is an alumni of the Price Media Law Moot Court Competition (2017, Oxford).

Giorgi Sulkhanishvili is a Chief Adviser in the Department of Legal Provision and Research at the Constitutional Court of Georgia, where he mainly works on legal issues of the pending cases, performs legal research, provides the judges of the Constitutional Court with legal advice and drafts the judgments of the Court.

Giorgi is a co-founder of the “Law and Innovation Research Center (LIRC)” – an NGO, which focuses on two main research areas: 1. Law and Technologies; 2. Approximation of the EU-Georgia association agreement. In different periods, Giorgi was a visiting lecturer of the constitutional and human rights law at two Georgian universities (Ilia State University and Grigol Robakidze University).

Giorgi holds master’s degrees (LLM) in Comparative Constitutional Law from the Central European University (Budapest) and in Private Law from Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University. Giorgi also studied EU law and economics at Riga Graduate School of Law (Latvia). Giorgi is a Ph.D. candidate at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University. The right to privacy and the police searches and seizures are at the center of his research interests.

With his native Georgian, Giorgi speaks fluent English and Russian.

Tamás Attila Szikora graduated at the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences of Pázmány Péter Catholic University (Budapest, Hungary) in 2008. At the beginning of his professional career, he was mainly involved in research of media regulation and the constitutional context of election campaigns and freedom of expression. He is a PhD student at the Doctoral School of Public Administration Sciences, Ludovika University of Public Service (Budapest, Hungary), and a research fellow at the Institute of the Information Society (Eötvös József Research Centre, Ludovika University of Public Service). His research focus areas are social media platform regulation, the role and effects of platforms in elections, and liability issues in the online sphere. His research interests also include certain aspects of the protection of personality rights, in particular the analysis of Hungarian case law in relation to the protection of reputation and honour of public figures.

Atmaja is an advocate enrolled with Bar Council of India. Her practice is focused on technology, media and telecom laws, intellectual property laws, competition law and other corporate and civil laws.

Atmaja graduated with BBA.LL. B from Symbiosis Law School, Pune in 2018. During law school, she pursued diploma degrees in media law and competition law. At law school, she has won multiple scholarships for academic excellence in subjects such as constitutional law, evidence law and was awarded the Director’s Award for Best Outgoing Girl Student in the graduating batch. Her interests in technology, media, and telecommunication laws, and constitutional law have led her to pursue prestigious moots and essay competitions, like the Oxford Monroe E Price Media Moot Court Competition, 2015. Atmaja has authored articles on contemporary legal issues in reputed journals including the European Competition Law Review, Kluwer Business Law Journal, and BRICS Law Journal. She frequently writes on cutting-edge technology and the intersection/ overlap with free speech, intellectual property rights, and competitive markets. Her interest in academia has led her to deliver lectures on intermediary liability at leading Indian law schools including National Law University, New Delhi, Maharashtra National Law University, Mumbai and National Law School of India University, Bengaluru. In February 2022, Atmaja was recognized as one of the youngest Future Legal Leaders by the India Business Law Journal.

Simona Veleva is a lawyer and a PhD in the field of constitutional law. The focus of her work is constitutional law, the right to freedom of expression, human rights in the digital sphere, copyright, media law and ethics, and data protection. Simona is a member of the Council for Electronic Media, the Bulgarian media regulator. She is an expert with the Digital Freedom Fund and the Centre for Freedom and Media. Simona teaches Media Law and Ethics, Human Rights in the Digital Sphere, s at the American University in Bulgaria. She participates in numerous working groups related to the transposition of EU legislation in the field of media and media regulation in Bulgaria.

Mateusz Wojtanowski has a PhD in law (2023). He holds master’s degrees in history (2016, cum laude) and administration (2017, summa cum laude). Mateusz received his education at the University of Wrocław, where his research activity is also based.

Mateusz is a contractor in two research projects funded by the Polish National Science Centre: “The freedom of expression of judges as related to their job role” (since 2021) and “Legal Epistemic Authority in Poland. Dynamics and Development 1986-2020” (since 2024). He was also a participant in the scholarship “European and International Business Law&Policy” (2019-2021).

Mateusz’s interest in freedom of expression concerns in particular members of certain professions, especially judges and university teachers.

Iyadh ABID is an independent Legal and Policy Consultant based in Tunis. He works on investment reforms, privacy issues and Justice sector reforms. Iyadh is a Fulbright alumnus holding a Master in Common Law from “Faculté des Sciences Juridiques, Politiques et Sociales de Tunis” and an LL.M. from Penn State Law. He formerly served as Adviser to the Minister of Development, Investment and International Cooperation and Adviser to the Minister of Industry and Trade in Tunisia, where he was involved in designing and implementing several legal and regulatory reforms. Iyadh previously worked with national and international NGOs and was Director of Africa Programs with PennState Law from 2018 to 2020. He is the co-founder of NGO LEAD Tunisia and instigator of the Penn State Law scholarship program for Tunisian law graduates.

Mohammad Almoghabat is currently the Outreach and Development Manager at HuMENA for Human Rights and Civic Engagement and doing a Ph.D. in International Constitutional Law at the Vrije Universiteit Brussels, with a former LL.M in International and European Law from the same university and a BA in Law from Beirut Arab University. He is a National Consultant for UNDP-Lebanon and a Legal Consultant on several legal issues specifically; contract & corporate law and human resources policies, providing support on the international protection of human rights and UPR mechanism, drafting project proposals and a certified trainer on Digital Security.

He is a specialized consultant on Access to Information in a number of MENA region countries; recently published a comprehensive legal study on ATI in Lebanon for Transparency International and the Lebanese Transparency Association. He also has a number of publications in international journals including the definition of torture in international law and on the just-war theory, also another study measuring the commitment of the Lebanese government to the ATI Law with Gherbal Initiative.

Jihene Arbi is a Tunisian lawyer, member of the Tunisian Bar since 2016. She is a trainer in the PARJ project for Justice Sector Reform in Tunisia, and has experience in human rights advocacy and gender policies. She has received the Special Mention Award in the “Memorial of Caen” on the occasion of her plea on gender and equality. As a lawyer, Jihen has litigation experience in criminal and civil law cases with a particular interest in domestic courts application of International law standards”.

Sofia Jaramillo-Otoya is the Senior Staff Attorney at RFK Human Rights were she leads, coordinates and supports the organization’s work partnering with human rights defenders to protect civic space through advocacy, strategic litigation, and technical assistance. Sofia has devoted much of her career to international human rights mechanisms. She served as legal advisor to the David Kaye, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom expression while also lecturing and co-supervising the International Justice Clinic at the University of California, Irvine. There, she coordinated the litigation efforts and focused on a wide range of digital rights issues related to freedom of expression and privacy, including surveillance, content moderation and oversight, online hate speech, online gender-based violence, artistic and academic expression. Sofia also served as legal advisor to Agnes Callamard, the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions while working as a legal officer at Columbia University’s Global Freedom of Expression. At the regional level, she served as a human rights specialist for two Special Rapporteurs for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. There, she addressed issues related to violence against journalists, protest, surveillance and access to information, and led the capacity building efforts of the office. Sofia has also worked with regional and local organizations including Dejusticia, Civitas, the Foundation for Free Press (FLIP) and the Inter-American Press Association.

Dhruv is an experienced Internet law and policy lawyer based in New Delhi, India.

He has represented global technology companies in complex litigation cases pertaining to intermediary liability, online content moderation and censorship, privacy and data protection, electronic surveillance, and OTT regulation. He has also assisted his clients in responding to regulatory proposals by the Indian government and sectoral regulators on these issues.

Dhruv served as a Digital Rights Litigation Fellow for the Centre for Communication Governance at the National Law University, Delhi in 2022. In this role, he supported strategic litigation to advance civil liberties and digital rights in India.

He is passionate about platform governance and routinely writes on this subject in academic and popular forums. He holds a B.Com., LL.B (Hons) from Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar and an LL.M. from Columbia Law School, with a concentration in technology law intellectual property.

Elda was born and raised in Kukës, Albania. She runs her own consulting practice, and her clients range from the simplest consular matters to the most complex matters involving immigration statues. She is sensitive to her clients’ issues while dedicated to aggressively advocating for their interest.

Elda has clerked twice in international business relations and law enforcement foreign affairs Department. She led twice Legal Departments in law enforcement and corporate services. She also supported YWCA, volunteering in assisting health and wellness programs to promote and protect women’s health. Prior to attending law school, she handled interpreting projects and health advocacy for many international agencies worldwide.

She got her legal degree, J.D in 2007, has worked in government and corporate legal settings ever since, and got her LLM, master’s in laws degree from Pace University School of Law in 2017. During her LLM studies, she externed in an International Trade business program.

She is currently managing a legal services department for a Corporate services company. She is a notary public from 2016 with a vast experience in the Legal field, Immigration, Corporate Law, and corporate compliance.

When not working or spending time with her family, Elda enjoys planning meaningful public interest for her community.

Kunal is a technology and IP attorney who navigates the intersections of innovation, law, and freedom of expression. Licensed to practice in Singapore and India, he is currently pursuing his Masters of Law degree from Columbia University in the City of New York, with plans to take the New York Bar exam in 2024. He earned his Legum Baccalaureus (LL.B.) degree with Honors and a Bachelor’s degree in humanities from National Law University, Gujarat, India in 2015.

With nearly a decade of experience in intellectual property rights, content and software licensing, e-commerce, privacy, surveillance, platform liability, and user free expression, Kunal has been actively involved in various litigations and initiatives focused on protecting online free speech and expression, privacy, surveillance, and trademark and copyright in South and South East Asia. He has also contributed to legal teams at Amazon and Siemens in Singapore, supporting global operations with a focus on copyright, trademarks, patents, content integrity, trust and safety, and R&D.

As a staff editor at the American Review of International Arbitration, Kunal has garnered recognition for his achievements in international and comparative law, receiving the Parker School Recognition of Achievement and Public Interest honors. He is also a recipient of Columbia University’s grant for Dialogue across Differences.

Ana Dangova Hug is a lawyer practicing at the Law firm INTER PARTES Skopje, specialising in international human rights law, criminal law and litigation. Before that she worked for the Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF), the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. She holds a Master in International Studies, with specialization in international law from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva.

Ms. Dangova Hug has acted as a counsel in numerous human rights challenges involving the right to freedom of expression before the national courts. She is a Trainer for the Macedonian Academy for Judges and Public Prosecutors.

Together with the Danish Institute of Human Rights, she led the preparation of the first national guide on Human Rights and Business in Macedonia, and contributed to publications of various organizations, including DCAF, Kluwer Law International and the World Bank.

Hülya Dinçer is a human rights lawyer and scholar based in Turkey. She holds a master degree from Paris Panthéon Sorbonne University and a Ph.D in human rights law from Galatasaray University. Her dissertation focuses on the legal construction of the right to truth in national and international human rights regimes.  She worked at Human Rights Department of Marmara University between 2011 and 2017 as a teaching and research assistant. She is currently a post-doctoral researcher at Institut of Political Sciences of Ecole Normal Supérieure Paris-Saclay in France.

She has collaborated with and written legal analysis for the NGO’s in Turkey such as Center of Memory, Truth and Justice, Heinrich Böll-Stiftung.  She has also conducted research at CELS, an Argentine NGO based in Buenos Aires during her stay between 2013-2014 as a visiting researcher. Her research focuses on transitional justice, collective memory, the right to truth and freedom of expression.

Mohamed Farahat is an Egyptian lawyer. He is a human rights lawyer, legal trainer and legal and political researcher. He joined Egyptian Foundation for Refugees Rights (EFRR) in 2014, first as Access to Justice team leader than as Coordinator of EFRR’s legal aid project with UNHCR, currently as programs director. He has held his current position since March 2015. In addition, Mr. Farahat joined African Civil Society on Information Society (ACSIS) since November 2017 as a member and National coordinator (ACSIS-Egypt). Prior to joining EFRR, he worked for Africa and Middle East Refugee Assistance (AMERA-Egypt) as access to Justice team leader, he worked for the International Commission for Jurists (ICJ) as a legal researcher.

Mr. Farahat hold a BA degree in Law from Cairo University, he obtained a post graduate diploma in Human Rights and civil society, post graduate diploma in International Negotiation, post graduate diploma in African Studies, and post graduate diploma in International law. Currently Mr. Farahat is a Master’s degree researcher at the Faculty of High African Studies-Cairo University.

Mr. Farahat has some published articles related to refugees; in addition, he organized and was guest speaker in workshops related to Refugees’ digital rights.

Mr. Farahat is a member of the Steering Committee of Internet Rights and Principles Coalition (IRPC) Internet Society (ISOC), individual member of ICANN’s Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group (NCSG). Recently Mr. Farahat was selected as a MAG member at North Africa IGF.

Mr. Farahat is Alumni of Middle East and Adjoining Countries School in Internet Governance (MAGSIG 2018), North Africa School in Internet Governance (NASIG 2019) and participated at many IG meetings such as the Global IGF 2017 and 2018 as speaker and workshop organizer, African IGF2017. Recently he organized a workshop during the Digital Rights and Inclusion forum 2019.

Mostafa is an Egyptian Human Rights Lawyer.

Also, he is a political and legal researcher and has many published researches (the Egyptian protesting law, media law, the interference of executive authorities in legislation, the execution law…), in addition to several studies on hate speech and racism.

Mostafa has run multiple positions in civil society with 10 years of experience in MENA region, and now he is the Deputy Director of HuMENA for Human Rights and Civic Engagement.

He is also a founding member of “Innovation For Change MENA-Hub”, and a Board member of “MENA Network for Countering Hate Speech”.

Hatim Hussain is a lawyer, currently pursuing Masters at Tsinghua University, China as a Schwarzman Scholar and on track for the completion of post graduate studies in Law at the University of Oxford on the Rhodes Scholarship.

He has previously worked in various capacities with leading research institutions, including most recently with University of Cambridge’s Centre for Alternative Finance where his role focuses on regulatory sequencing in relation to development of an automated regulatory intelligence platform as well as authoring reports in the domains of law, finance and technology. In the past, Hatim has also served as a judicial intern with Justice Dr. D. Y. Chandrachud at the Supreme Court of India.

His main focus lies at the intersection of technology and human rights.

Raghav is a Case and Policy Officer at Meta‘s Oversight Board where he is working on making Facebook and Instagram’s legal policies on misinformation, electoral integrity, hate speech, gender, and nudity fairer and more complaint with International human rights.

Hs is also a dual-qualified attorney, qualified to practice in California (admission pending) and India. Prior to joining the Oversight Board he was an Affiliate Fellow at the Future of Free Speech Project at Justitia, Denmark

Raghav holds a Master’s in Information Technology and Media laws from the London School of Economics and previously studied media policy at the Annenberg-Oxford Policy Institute at the University of Oxford.

He received his B.A.LLB (Hons.) from the Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab pursuing. At the University, he was the Convener of the Centre for Advanced Studies in Criminal Law and also headed the Debate Society. He participated in various International moot court and debate competitions. He was an Oralist at the 11^th Price Media Moot Court Competition (South Asia) where his team emerged the Winner and also won the Best Memorial Award. Previously, he has interned under Supreme Court Justice U.U. Lalit, former Additional Solicitor General of India Mr. Sidharth Luthra and with other human rights organizations.

Celine Merhej is a researcher and analyst specialized in supporting democratic governance reforms, with a focus on anti-corruption, transparency, and the rule of law. A native of Lebanon, Ms. Merhej is currently managing a project related to transparency in the public sector at Gherbal Initiative. She holds a Bachelor of Sciences in Economics from Notre-Dame University. Ms. Merhej has had previous experience with UNDP’s regional anti-corruption project in the Arab states specifically in Lebanon, Tunisia, Jordan, Morocco, and Iraq, as well as an International observer for the Carter Center in the Tunisian Presidential Elections in 2019. Ms. Merhej is also a certified facilitator by the British Council, and is fluent in Arabic, English, and French.

Nancy Nahouly is a Lebanese lawyer, Member of the Beirut Bar Association since 2009.

Certified mediator & ADR specialist. She is also a Legal consultant for several international human rights organizations including UNICEF, the International Rescue Committee and Intersos. Also, a contributor to several Human rights studies in Lebanon.

Dyuti Pandya is a legal researcher for Global Freedom of Expression at Columbia University. She is a master’s graduate in law where she specialised in International trade from Gujarat Maritime University. She is a dual bachelor’s graduate in legal sciences and law from the University of Mumbai.  She has an interest in geopolitics, international trade and economic development particularly from the lens of the US, China and the EU.  She runs the Bastiat Scrolls Project where she focuses on building a wider libertarian dialogue across South Asia.

Carolina is a Legal Clerk at the Civil Court of Appeal of Milan, where she deals with a number of different private law cases. This experience will allow her to access both the bar exam and the judicial exam. She holds a Master’s Degree in Law obtained summa cum laude from the University of Milan and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the London School of Economics. She wrote her LL.M. dissertation on the interaction between Artificial Intelligence and consumer protection, claiming AI may be used by consumers to strengthen their contractual position and achieve social justice in contract law. In September 2021, she will start a PhD at the European University Institute (EUI) further investigating the same topic.

María Luisa Romero is a Senior Advisor to Global Freedom of Expression. She is a lawyer specializing in human rights and current member of the United Nations Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture. She is a former Minister and Vice-Minister of Government in Panama where she oversaw issues related to justice, prisons, governance, refugees and indigenous peoples. Romero sits on the Board of Directors of the Fundación para la Libertad Ciudadana, the local chapter of Transparency International in Panama and is a member of the Inter-American Dialogue. A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, she was the author and main researcher of the recent publication titled “Use of force in the context of social protests: practical contributions based on a comparative analysis of domestic norms”.

Darius Ruff is a final-year law student at the Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany, and majors in international, transnational and European law. In addition, he studies Business and Economic Law, striving for a LL.M. degree. His international experience includes a foreign semester in Chongqing, China, promoted with a grant by the German Academic Exchange Service and a participation in an international moot court programme on international investment arbitration. Furthermore, he works as a research assistant for a study program on international economic law. Overall, he is an avid learner in contemporary political, economic, legal and societal issues.

For Global Freedom of Expression, Darius researches on decisions of German-speaking courts with a focus on constitutional jurisprudence.

Dr. Marco A. Sabino is a researcher who provides legal analysis of Freedom of Expression in Brazil and South America. He is a former partner of Mannrich and Vaconcelos Lawfirm where he was Head of Media and Internet Area. He worked as an executive for Globo TV, one of the America’s biggest broadcasters, in the advertising area. He holds a Ph.D. in Litigation from the University of São Paulo, School of Law. His dissertation – a study of the judicial intervention on public health – was awarded as the best dissertation of 2015 by the University São Paulo. He holds a Post-Doctorate in Democracy and Human Rights at University of Coimbra, Portugal, and his dissertation was a study on the spectrum of freedom of expression on commercial advertising. He was Academic Visitor at the Centre For Social-Legal Studies of Oxford University, United Kingdom, and studied the right to be forgotten. He is a lawyer with 18 years experience, professor of Ethics, Law, Corporate Governance and Media and Internet. He was member of the Board of Brazilian Self-Regulatory Advertising Council. He is researcher of ILD, Digital Freedom Institute. Additionally, he has earned post-graduate certificates in Civil Procedure and Litigation (Catholic Law School, São Paulo), Civil and Commercial Law (Autonomous Law School of São Paulo) and Teaching (University Anhembi-Morumbi).

Sanskriti Sanghi is an alumna of the University of Cambridge, where she read for her Master of Law with a specialisation in International Law. She graduated from Cambridge in 2020 with First Class Honours and as a recipient of the Jennings Prize (Wolfson College). Prior to pursuing her graduate studies at Cambridge, Sanskriti was an undergraduate student at the Gujarat National Law University (GNLU) in India where she was an Aditya Birla Scholar, and from which she graduated in 2019 as a recipient of 8 gold medals. During her time at these institutions, Sanskriti interned with well-renowned firms and organizations in India and abroad, and had her academic work published in reputed national and international journals and blogs. Presently, she is a lecturer of Jurisprudence at the Jindal Global Law School (JGLS) as well as a co-leader for the Digital Constitutionalism research cycle at the Institute for Internet and the Just Society.

Sarah is the co-founder and director of HuMENA for Human Rights and Civic Engagement.

She holds a Master’s degree in Political Sciences and International Relations with a concentration in International organizations and non-governmental organizations management, and a diploma in International Human Rights Law from the International Institute of Human Rights (Fondation René Cassin), Strasbourg.

Sarah has an intensive experience in CSO development, advocacy, gender, transitional justice, and democratization sector.

She held different programmatic positions with increasing responsibilities in local, regional, and international NGOs in the Middle East.

In 2018 she was selected for the top 10 list of the “Arab Youth Humanitarian Activism Award”.

Sanjana Srikumar is a Delhi-based advocate, who is currently a Legal Fellow at Access Now, where she is working on strategic litigation on digital rights. Prior to Access Now, Sanjana worked as a human rights litigator and researcher based in India, focussing on strategic litigation on behalf of people’s movements to advance civil liberties and socio-economic rights. She primarily practiced at the Indian Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court, under the mentorship of Sanjay Parikh, Senior Advocate at the Supreme Court. She was also affiliated with People’s Union for Civil Liberties, Internet Freedom Foundation and Media Legal Defence Initiative.

Sanjana holds a B.A. LL.B. (Hons) from the National Law University, Jodhpur in India and an LL.M. from Columbia University, where she was a scholar at the Center for Public Research & Leadership.

Valentina Vera Quiroz is a legal researcher for Global Freedom of Expression at Columbia University. She holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB), and a Minor in Government and Public Affairs from University of Los Andes, Colombia. During Law School, she worked as a teaching undergraduate assistant for Public International Law and Statistics for the Social Sciences, and she was member of the University’s Legal Aid Clinic where she worked as legal advisor of victims of the armed conflict in Colombia. Valentina participated at Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, in Washington D.C., where she was awarded as best oralist as well as the best team of the international exhibition rounds.

She has worked as researcher in the compliance practice in Latin America with research on national and international standards. Valentina currently serves as the coordinator of the Latin American Chapter of the Columbia Global Freedom of Expression Initiative at the University of Los Andes, and she coordinates the master’s program in International Law at said University.

Her areas of interest include Public International Law, International Law of Human Rights, Comparative and Constitutional Law.

Sofia is a PhD candidate at the University of Perugia, Department of Political Science: her research explores the relationship between anti-terror laws and media systems. She holds a master degree in Law from the University of Trento (Italy), with a master thesis on the national security-related limitations to free expression in Italy and Turkey.

She collaborated with the Italian think tank Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT) in the realm of the ECPMF project (European Centre for Press and Media Pluralism).

She studied in Istanbul at Bilgi and Yeditepe University, specializing in the field of criminal and media law. In Istanbul, she worked for the IKV Foundation (Economic Development Foundation), which focuses on Turkish-European relations, researching in the field of freedom of expression.