Dr Mustafa Jawad Al-Bayati

Iraq Expert — Human Rights, Political Situation & Asylum Cases

Expert at The Human Rights Experts, an international expert witness organisation.

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 full compliance with procedural standards and tribunal requirements in the UK (CPR Part 35, Upper Tribunal PD, First-tier Tribunal IAC PD), USA (Federal Rules of Evidence), Canada, and the EU.

Occupation

• Country Witness Expert on Iraq, Syria, and Yemen
• Human Rights Specialist
• Legal Researcher and Academic Consultant
• Independent Journalist and Investigative Reporter on Human Rights

Expertise

I provide expert analysis on all five Refugee Convention grounds — political opinion, religion, ethnicity, membership of a particular social group (including LGBT and gender-based cases), and nationality — with a focus on the following countries:

Iraq: Political dissent in Iraq is met with lethal force, enforced disappearances, and targeted assassinations, as state-aligned militias and security services systematically silence activists, journalists, and protesters who challenge entrenched political factions and corruption networks. Ethno-religious minorities, including Turkmen, Shabak, Yazidis, Mandaeans, and Christians, have suffered genocide, mass displacement, and ongoing threats from armed groups, with many communities unable to return to ancestral lands due to militia control and property seizures. Women and girls face endemic honour-based violence, forced marriage, and female genital mutilation particularly in the Kurdistan Region, while legal protections remain inadequate and societal norms shield perpetrators. LGBT individuals are subjected to extrajudicial killings, torture, and militia-led campaigns of violence with complete impunity, and Bidoon (stateless) populations and individuals with perceived affiliations to the former Ba'ath regime or ISIS-controlled areas face collective punishment, denial of civil documentation, and severe restrictions on freedom of movement.

Syria: Syria remains characterized by mass atrocities committed by multiple parties to the conflict, with the state apparatus employing systematic torture, chemical weapons attacks, and siege warfare against civilian populations in areas outside government control. Political opposition figures, media workers, and humanitarian workers face arrest, enforced disappearance, and death in detention, while ethnic Kurds in the northeast and Sunni Arab communities in reconquered territories face distinct patterns of persecution. Women detained by security forces are subjected to sexual violence as a deliberate tool of repression, and LGBT persons face prosecution and violent persecution from both state authorities and extremist armed groups, with no legal protections or safe haven within the country.

Yemen: The armed conflict in Yemen has created one of the worst humanitarian disasters globally, with all parties to the conflict — including Ansar Allah (Houthi forces), government-aligned militias, and coalition forces — committing violations including indiscriminate airstrikes, forced recruitment of children, and arbitrary detention of political opponents and journalists. The Muhamasheen (marginalized caste) community and the Baha'i religious minority face entrenched discrimination, arbitrary arrest, and persecution, while Houthi authorities have imposed severe restrictions on religious practice for non-Zaydi communities. Women and girls face forced marriage, domestic violence, and severe restrictions on movement and autonomy, particularly in Houthi-controlled areas, and LGBT individuals face the death penalty under both codified law and tribal custom, with no prospect of legal protection or social acceptance.

Experience

• Delivered expert witness testimony and written reports in over 80 asylum proceedings before UK immigration tribunals and US immigration courts, addressing claims related to political persecution, sectarian violence, and membership of particular social groups in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen.
• Provided detailed oral evidence before the Upper Tribunal and submitted expert assessments to the Board of Immigration Appeals on the security situation in southern and central Iraq, including militia governance and the treatment of perceived ISIS affiliates.
• Produced country condition reports and risk assessments on Iraq, Syria, and Yemen for legal aid solicitors, barristers, and international protection bodies, covering internal relocation viability and state protection availability.
• Held a position as Associate Professor of Political Science and Conflict Studies at the University of Basrah, conducting extensive field research on post-conflict governance, militia dynamics, and minority displacement in Iraq.
• Worked with international non-governmental organisations to document mass atrocity crimes, enforced disappearances, and violations of international humanitarian law across the region. Expert member of The Human Rights Experts.

Full professional experience is available in the CV. Please email us to receive the detailed expert CV.

Publications

Available upon request and detailed in the expert CV.

Languages

• Arabic (Native)
• English (Fluent)
• Kurdish — Sorani (Conversational)

Religious Groups Expertise

All religious groups

Contact Email

info@thehuman-rights.com