Alka Pradhan

Pradhan received a BA from Johns Hopkins University, an MA from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, a JD from Columbia Law School, and an LLM from the London School of Economics.[6]

Pradhan was formerly an attorney at Reprieve. In 2014, her team sued the U.S. government over force-feeding techniques used on detainees at Guantanamo Bay.[7]

Pradhan has worked with members of the UK Parliament and European Parliament on torture investigations. She was a speaker for the "Complicity and Counterterrorism" series sponsored by an All-Party Parliamentary Group on Renditions in 2017.

In 2017, Pradhan led al-Baluchi's case before the UN Working Group of Arbitrary Detention. The Working Group determined that al-Baluchi was being subjected to arbitrary detention by the United States government, and recommended his immediate release.[8]

Pradhan was one of the subjects of the 2019 Field of Vision documentary The Trial,[9] about the Guantanamo Bay military commissions.[10] Pradhan frequently speaks publicly about the impact of the CIA torture program on the detainees at Guantanamo[11][12] and the lack of accountability for CIA and Bush administration officials who authorized torture.[13] In an interview with Christiane Amanpour, Pradhan stated that detainee torture "is the nasty center of this entire endeavour of the military commissions at Guantanamo."[14] She has also stated regarding Ammar al-Baluchi's prosecution that "I don't think that there is any real evidence the government has at this point that is not tainted by his torture."[15]

Pradhan appeared in the 2019 documentary The Long Haul, about the life and career of human rights lawyer Professor Sir Nigel Rodley.[16]

The 2020 graphic novel Guantanamo Voices by Sarah Mirk featured a chapter on Pradhan, illustrated by Tracy Chahwan.[17] The same year, Pradhan was included on a list of "DC Rising Stars: 40 Under 40."[18]

In 2021, Pradhan joined the defence team of Al-Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud before the International Criminal Court.[19] Evidence against Al-Hassan is alleged to have been tainted by his torture in Mali.[20] [21]

Pradhan is considered an expert on the interaction between the law of war and human rights law; the prohibition on torture; and the impact of coerced evidence on fair trials.[22]

Pradhan is an Adjunct Professor at Penn Law School[23] and a Co-Chair of the Human Rights Law Committee of the International Bar Association. Pradhan is also a member of the Board of Directors of the International Law Students Association.[24] Pradhan is a member of the Drafting Group for the Principles on Effective Interviewing for Investigations and Information-Gathering, called the "Méndez Principles," to be adopted by the United Nations General Assembly.[25] [26]