Alka Pradhan
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Alka Pradhan is an American human rights attorney who has represented Guantanamo Bay detainees, civilian drone strike victims, and other torture victims. She currently works for the U.S. Department of Defense, Military Commissions Defense Organization and represents
Ammar al-Baluchi Ammar al-Baluchi or Amar Baloch; born Ali Abdul Aziz Ali on 29 August 1977) is a Pakistani citizen who has been in American custody at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp since 2006. He was arrested in the Pakistani former capital city of Karachi ...
in the case of '' United States v. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed''. Pradhan also works as a defence attorney at the International Criminal Court.


Early life and education

Pradhan received a BA from
Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...
, an MA from the
Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies The School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) is a graduate school of Johns Hopkins University based in Washington, D.C. The school also maintains campuses in Bologna, Italy and Nanjing, China. The school is devoted to the study of int ...
, a JD from
Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...
, and an LLM from the
London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...
.


Career

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. Pradhan has worked with members of the UK Parliament and
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
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. Pradhan was one of the subjects of the 2019
Field of Vision The visual field is "that portion of space in which objects are visible at the same moment during steady fixation of the gaze in one direction"; in ophthalmology and neurology the emphasis is mostly on the structure inside the visual field and it i ...
documentary ''The Trial'', about the Guantanamo Bay military commissions. Pradhan frequently speaks publicly about the impact of the CIA torture program on the detainees at Guantanamo and the lack of accountability for CIA and Bush administration officials who authorized torture. In an interview with
Christiane Amanpour Christiane Maria Heideh AmanpourStated on ''Finding Your Roots'', 22 January 2019 (; ; born 12 January 1958) is a British-Iranian journalist and television host. Amanpour is the Chief International Anchor for CNN and host of CNN International, ...
, Pradhan stated that detainee torture "is the nasty center of this entire endeavour of the military commissions at Guantanamo." 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." In April 2025, Pradhan and her legal team obtained a win for al-Baluchi when a military judge excluded government evidence from his Guantanamo Bay military commission as torture-acquired. The provenance of the evidence had been litigated for nearly seven years prior to the ruling. Pradhan stated that the ruling was "a reminder to the United States that governments that commit crimes must be hald accountable." Pradhan appeared in the 2019 documentary ''The Long Haul'', about the life and career of human rights lawyer Professor Sir
Nigel Rodley Sir Nigel Simon Rodley KBE (born Rosenfeld; 1 December 1941 – 25 January 2017) was an international lawyer and professor. Personal life Rodley was born in the West Riding of Yorkshire on 1 December 1941 to Hans Israel Rosenfeld and Rachel ...
. The 2020 graphic novel ''Guantanamo Voices'' by Sarah Mirk featured a chapter on Pradhan, illustrated by Tracy Chahwan. The same year, Pradhan was included on a list of "DC Rising Stars: 40 Under 40." In 2021, Pradhan joined the defence team of Al-Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud before the
International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...
. Evidence against Al-Hassan is alleged to have been tainted by his torture in Mali. 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. In 2025, Pradhan and co-author Benjamin Farley won honorable mention for the Lieber Prize from the
American Society of International Law American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, ...
for their paper entitled "Establishing a Practical Test for the End of Non-International Armed Conflict."


Professional affiliations

Pradhan is an adjunct professor at
Penn Law School The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Carey Law, or Penn Law; previously University of Pennsylvania Law School) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Phil ...
and a former Co-Chair of the Human Rights Law Committee of the
International Bar Association The International Bar Association (IBA), founded in 1947, is a bar association of international legal practitioners, bar associations and law societies. The IBA in 2018 had a membership of more than 80,000 individual lawyers and 190 bar associati ...
. Pradhan is also a member of the Board of Directors of the International Law Students Association. Pradhan was a member of the Drafting Group for the Principles on Effective Interviewing for Investigations and Information-Gathering, often referred to as the "Méndez Principles" to honor the former UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Juan E. Méndez.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pradhan, Alka Guantanamo Bay attorneys Human rights lawyers Anti-torture activists Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American people of Indian descent