The Team |

Phillip Leach is Professor of Human Rights Law at Middlesex University, a solicitor, and until March 2022 he was Director of the European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC). He has extensive experience in human rights litigation, including representing applicants before the European Court of Human Rights, in particular in relation to Russia, Turkey and the UK. He is the author of a number of books, journal and online articles and book chapters on various human rights issues. He has conducted human rights training for the Council of Europe, the OSCE, the British Council, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, the Law Society of England and Wales, the Arab Lawyers' Union and various NGOs.

Helen Duffy is an experienced human rights litigator and professor of human rights and humanitarian law at the University of Leiden. She currently runs ‘Human Rights in Practice’, an international litigation practice based in the Hague specialising in strategic litigation before regional and international human rights courts and bodies, including the European Court of Human Rights. Previously, she held positions of Legal Director (and Litigation Director) of INTERIGHTS, Legal Officer at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Counsel to Human Rights Watch (International Justice, New York), Legal Director of the Centre for Human Rights Legal Action (Guatemala), Legal Adviser to the UK ‘Arms for Iraq’ Inquiry and Legal Officer in the UK government legal service.  She has written several books and articles on international law and practice, one of which was recently published on the topic of strategic human rights litigation. She is an Honorary Professor at the University of Glasgow and serves on the advisory boards of a number of organisations.

Ayse is a lawyer specialised in international human rights law and domestic law and judicial procedures in Turkey. She practiced in Istanbul between 2003 and 2017 followed by her work at Media Legal Defence Initiative in London as part of the legal team until 2019. She was a research fellow with Middlesex University School of Law between 2017 and 2020. Currently based in New York, she acts as a consultant and country expert for several national and international civil society organisations.

Sanya has been working with the Democratic Progress Institute since 2011. She is a graduate of Dicle University Law Faculty in Turkey. Between 2000 and 2006 she practised as a lawyer in Diyarbakir, Turkey. She has worked for several NGOs through her career and participated in representation of many applicants before the European Court of Human Rights. In January 2022, she completed a PhD at Queen Mary University of London. Her PhD research focused on state criminality and the mechanics of impunity in Turkey. She is also a researcher at the "International State Crime Initiative”. She acts as an expert before the UK courts in matters related to Turkey.

Beril is a lawyer specialised in international human rights law. After graduating from Galatasaray University Faculty of Law in 2013, she received an LL.M in International Legal Studies from the NYU School of Law in 2014. She worked as an Assistant Lawyer at the Registry of the European Court of Human Rights between 2014 and 2019. She holds a joint PhD from the University of Strasbourg and Ghent University.

Nina is a researcher specializing in human rights and digital technologies at the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, University of Oxford. She holds a Master’s degree in European and International Human Rights Law from Leiden University, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in English and French Law from University College London. She has also completed traineeships at the European Court of Human Rights and the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights.