Executive Director: John Sifton
John Sifton is an attorney and investigator with experience in the Middle East, Asia, Europe and the United States. He worked at Human Rights Watch from 2001 until 2007, from 2005 to 2007 as the senior researcher on terrorism and counterterrorism, focusing on Asia, Europe, and the Middle East and South Asia, and from 2001 to 2004 as a researcher in Asia Division, focusing on Afghanistan, as well as India and Pakistan. He worked in 2000 and 2001 for a humanitarian organization, primarily in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and in 1999 for a refugee advocacy organization in Albania and Kosovo. He has written extensively on terrorism and counterterrorism issues and on security and human rights issues in Afghanistan and Iraq, publishing articles in the International Herald Tribune, Slate, Salon, and the New York Times Magazine and New York Times Book Review. He has testified in the U.S. Congress on security issues in Afghanistan, and in European Parliament and Council of Europe committees on abuses by intelligence agencies in Europe. Mr. Sifton is a graduate of New York University School of Law (JD) and St. John’s College, Annapolis (BA).Research Director: Jonathan Horowitz
Jonathan Horowitz is an investigator and research coordinator. From 2005 to 2007, he worked for the United Nations documenting human rights and laws of war violations in Darfur, Sudan, and drafted public reports and briefing papers for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. He also worked at the NYU Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, and at Human Rights Watch from 2000 to 2003 as the program associate and coordinator, where he conducted research on post-September 11, 2001 hate crimes and assisted in the logistical and strategic coordination of Human Rights Watch researchers in Iraq in 2003. In 1998 and 1999, he researched truth commissions in South Africa and Chile. Jonathan Horowitz was published in the Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law, the Human Rights Brief, and the National Black Law Journal. He is a graduate of the University of Essex, U.K. (LLM) and Bates College, USA (BA).U.S. Research Director: Scheherazade Salimi
Scheherazade Salimi is an attorney, investigator, and research coordinator with a background in litigation and public policy advocacy. As a litigation associate at two New York City law firms, Scheherazade worked on litigation projects ranging from complex anti-trust matters to suits involving major players in the financial services industry falling under anti-money laundering and counterterrorism laws. Scheherazade also has extensive experience with public policy advocacy. From 2005-2008, she served as the counsel to the Education Committee at the New York City Council, and before that, as the counsel to the Aging Committee, where she drafted legislation, coordinated oversight hearings, and worked on a variety of public policy issues related to public education, health, and housing issues in New York City. In 2004, she lived and worked in India where she assisted in efforts to lobby the Indian parliament to pass legislation outlawing sexual harassment in the workplace, and helped Human Rights Watch promote coverage of a report on HIV/AIDS affected children in India. From 2002-2003, Scheherazade worked at UNICEF on child trafficking issues, and wrote a detailed guide for lawmakers on strengthening domestic laws and programs designed to address human trafficking. Scheherazade is a graduate of New York University School of Law (JD) and Columbia University (BA and MIA).