Ahmad Issa serves as a judge in the Lebanese judiciary. In this capacity, he has investigated many cases related to money-laundering, white collar crimes, fraud, corruption, sexual harassment, counter-terrorism and counter-financing of terrorism. As an adjunct lecturer in law at the Lebanese University, he has taught and conducted legal research for more than 10 years. Moreover, he has supervised legal research and provided lectures at Fouad Shehab Command and Staff College at the Lebanese Army.
In addition, he has acted as a consultant for many international non-governmental organizations such as World Vision International, Oxfam, the Norwegian Refugee Council, Expertise France, and the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law. He has also served as a legal trainer at the Interior Security Forces Institute for officers. Ahmad received his PhD in public law from the Lebanese University and The University of Grenoble Alps. In addition, he has received awards for his previous legal research projects from the European Union (Tempus), the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Eiffel), and the Francophone Universities Agency. As a Humphrey fellow, he is interested in building his skills related to fraud and financial crime investigation techniques.
Sha’ista Kazee
Sha’ista is an advocate, practicing in constitutional and human rights law.  Before being called to the Bar, Sha’ista had worked at two of the country’s top law firms.  She started her career working at a renowned national NGO and litigated in the areas of land rights and refugee protections. Sha’ista clerked at the Constitutional Court of South Africa, is a British Chevening scholar, and was conferred an LL.M. degree with distinction from University of London, SOAS. Additionally, she is an accredited mediator.
As counsel, she has represented clients in the Supreme Court of Appeal and the Constitutional Court and has acted as a Judge in the High Court of South Africa.  Sha’ista is passionate about the practical implementation of legal principles and constitutional values as a tool to bring about systemic change in society.  As a Humphrey fellow, Sha’ista is interested in constitutional remedies and comparative constitutional law.
Mehluli Malisa Batakathi
Mehluli Malisa Batakathi is an Advocate of the Superior Courts in Zambia, currently Partner at a multi-disciplinary law firm based in Lusaka. He is also the Co-founder of Conservation Advocates Zambia, a not-for-profit organisation that seeks to use the law as a tool for environmental conservation and climate justice.
Mehluli holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree in Constitutional Law, a Bachelor of Science. (HONS) in Land and Water Resources Management and a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree. He served as the students’ union president during his undergraduate days and currently leads the Lusaka Provincial Chapter of the Zambia -United States Exchanges Alumni Association (ZUEA) as its Chapter Co-ordinator. Mehluli is also a part-time lecturer at the University of Zambia’s Institute of Distance Learning, teaching Constitutional Law and Administrative Law. He is the Convenor of the Law Association of Zambia’s Public Interest and Human Rights Committee and a member of the Climate Change Taskforce of the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ). Mehluli is also on the Panel of Experts for the South African based Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa (ISLA) and serves as the Director of Strategic Litigation at the Institute of Law, Policy, Research and Human Rights (ILPHR).
Mehluli is passionate about constitutionalism, the rule of law and human rights. He advocates for the protection of the environment, climate justice, accountability and transparency. As a constitutional lawyer, he has handled a significant number of cases at the Constitutional Court, addressing matters related to the electoral system, elections, separation of powers and good governance. He strongly believes in the role of the legal profession in the conservation agenda and the pursuit of sustainable development. He has been actively involved in efforts to halt mining in the Lower Zambezi National Park and commercial farming on the outskirts of the Kasanka National Park. During his Humphrey Fellowship, Mehluli will focus on the right to a clean and safe environment as a human right and the connection between constitutional and environmental law.
Aktham Arabiyat serves as a judge for Judiciary of Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Prior to that, he worked as a judicial assistant at the ministry of Justice for 5 years, and then as a junior judge in the technical office of the cassation court. He has over 10 years of professional experience in the legal public sector, five years as a judge, handling both criminal and commercial cases. Has experience into cases related to corruption, public opinion, and commercial matters.
Aktham holds a judicial Diploma from the Jordanian judicial institute, where he attended intensive legal courses for 3 years. He also holds a Ph.D. in insolvency law, focusing on rehabilitation of unsuccessful or struggling businesses instead of liquidation.Â
Furthermore, he firmly believes in the concept of the Rule of law, and that justice is the foundation of good governance requiring that the law rules both the ruler and the ruled.Â
Cyrille Rolande Bechon is a passionate Cameroonian human rights activist and defender. She serves as the executive director of the NGO Nouveaux Droits de l’Homme, where she works as human rights and conflict transformation expert. Bechon has over 12 years of professional experience working in documenting and reporting human rights violations, raising awareness about civic engagement, monitoring civic and democratic spaces, and providing legal aid to victims of illegal arrest and detention, torture and ill treatment.
Cyrille is also a trainer of human rights defenders on security and protection. She holds a Master’s degree on Human rights and Rule of Law from the University of Yaounde 2, as well as a diploma of specialization on conflict transformation from the Central Africa Catholic University. She is currently pursuing a PhD at University of Douala. During her Humphrey Fellowship, Bechon is focusing on acquiring more skills in protection against torture and ill treatment, the prosecution of torture and ill treatment and international criminal law.
Viviana Quintero Salgado is a technical advisor for a research project aimed at preventing online child sexual exploitation and abuse in Latin America using artificial intelligence. This project is led by Universidad de Los Andes and the NGO Aulas en Paz, and it is funded by the UN EVAC Fund. Quintero studied psychology at the National University of Colombia and has 15 years of experience leading intersectoral projects to prevent online violence against children and women. One notable example of her leadership was in the design and operation of the hotline www.teprotejo.org, managed by the NGO Red PaPaz. Drawing on her expertise in child psychology, online safety, and digital violence prevention, Quintero focuses on promoting collaboration among multiple stakeholders to enhance national capacity in addressing online child sexual exploitation. In 2020, she was nominated as one of the TOP 50 women in cybersecurity in Latin America by the Women in Cybersecurity Network (WOMCY). In 2023, she was nominated for the HABA Awards, by the ICT Ministry of Colombia, in recognition of her work in empowering women and children through awareness and training regarding digital risks.
Muhammad Kashif Aslam is a career Civil Service Officer, who works in the Police Service of Pakistan. He has held important positions related to Police Operations and Investigations in different districts of Punjab. Additionally, he has served in terrorism-hit areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB). Recently, he worked as a Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) at the Elite Police Force Punjab. In this role, he advised Punjab Police and other law enforcement officials in planning, developing and implementing programmes and activities to deal with post-conflict situations. He also provided specialized institutional capacity building assistance in this area.
He is a recipient of British Chevening Scholarship in 2015 and completed LL.M. degree from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. He also holds LLB degree and a MBA degree from Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Karachi. In 2013, he participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) in the USA. He has also attended various local trainings related to crime management, investigation management, evidence collection in terrorism cases and combating transnational crimes. Furthermore, He has conducted research in areas such as Violence against women, Curbing Police Corruption, violence against children and training policy of Police. As a Humphrey Fellow, he is interested in exploring the best practices and legislations for rights and protection of marginalized groups especially transgender, and its integration with existing criminal justice system.
Luiz Silva is a public servant in the Brazilian judiciary and has an academic and professional background focused on the defense and promotion of human rights. With over seven years of experience at the Brazilian National Council of Justice, he has expertise in the area of International Human Rights Law, especially in the Inter-American Human Rights System. He is currently working at the Unit for Monitoring the Decisions of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (UMF/CNJ), where he focuses on developing technologies to monitor international decisions concerning Brazil.
In the Humphrey Program, he intends to explore the areas of compliance with international human rights decisions in the US, litigation strategies of American civil society, models of administration of justice, and digital monitoring tools, with the goal of fostering best practices and strengthening the culture of human rights in Brazil.
Sateesh Bino serves as the Deputy Inspector General of police in the Indian State of Kerala and is an Indian Police Service Officer of the 2008 batch .He has approximately15 years of experience, including serving as Police chief in five districts of Kerala where he supervised many sensitive investigations, ensured law and order and initiated many well-appreciated Community policing initiatives, specifically focusing on prevention of drug abuse and trafficking. In 2023, Sateesh was a global fellow with the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). He is also a certified Resilience trainer of the University of Pennsylvania and the Bureau of Justice Assistance, USA.
Apart from his professional accomplishments, Sateesh is an avid fitness enthusiast, being an Ultra Marathoner and triathlete. He has also completed two full Ironman triathlons (Maryland 2022, Texas 2023). He holds a master’s degree in public policy from the Indian School of Business and a Doctorate in managerial economics. As a Humphrey Fellow, Sateesh will focus on law and Human rights. He intends to study international best practices in ensuring human rights and contribute to the development of standard operating procedures for law enforcement in this direction.
Hui Xiao is an investigative journalist at Caixin Media, the most credible media group in mainland China. With bachelor's degrees in journalism and law, as well as master’s degrees in international relations and public policy, Hui Xiao has been covering stories on political, economic, and legal affairs for 12 years, including government corruption, judicial injustice, abuse of police power, and significant social conflicts. With her unique and, in-depth understanding of the real China, she provides valuable insights.
Hui Xiao has written dozens of exclusive investigative reports on the first outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan throughout its complete lockdown in 2020, and won Caixin Media's title of Journalist of the Year 2020 for her excellent reporting on the Wuhan epidemic. Additionally, she has led a series of investigations on corruption scandals of senior officials of the Chinese Communist Party.
Through her work, Hui Xiao aims to bring about some positive social changes in China.
Florence Akara, an advocate for social justice and gender equality, brings over 10 years of professional experience spanning various sectors. She practiced corporate law in Botswana and Kenya after obtaining a law degree from the University of Botswana. Driven by her passion to directly address social issues, Florence transitioned to advocacy campaigns for Chapter One Kenya and subsequently became the Director of Femme International in 2018. During her tenure at Femme, she actively tackled challenges related to menstrual health rights in East Africa, which exposed her to the multifaceted challenges, funding gaps, and pressing need for context-specific program models.
Believing in the transformative power of collaborative change, Florence sees the Hubert Humphrey program as an opportunity to foster connections between African and American partners. Her goal is to develop more effective Afro-feminist approaches that serve as roadmaps for promoting gender equality in Africa. With expertise in corporate law, menstrual and sexual reproductive health, and grassroots nonprofit leadership, Florence is equipped to make a meaningful impact.
Wasim Riaz is a professional police officer from the Federal Police Service of Pakistan (PSP) with over a decade of experience in police investigations, law and order and security. He has rich experience of serving in command positions heading four police districts in various areas including the challenging north western region of Pakistan. As the head of district police, he has worked with UNDP, UNODC, INL and other international partners in various fields like women empowerment and improving service delivery for vulnerable segments of society including women, children and transgender individuals. He has led provincial police departments to introduce anti human trafficking regime by contributing to capacity building and establishing dedicated investigation units for such crimes. Riaz is a member of Law Enforcement Educators, and Trainers Association (ILEETA) and attended annual conference in St. Louis, USA, in 2019. He holds a degree in Metallurgical engineering from UET Lahore and has authored five books on various subjects.