Zekeriyya (Zack) is working as legal consultant in the Center for International Justice (CIJ).
Growing up in Izmir, Turkey, he lived in a dynamic and multicultural society where politics, identity and human rights issues could come into play in any discussion. He completed two Bachelor degrees in Istanbul University, one in law and the other in political science and public administration. “Studying law and political science not only gave me the chance to better understand what was happening around me, but also provided me the chance to contribute human rights work in a more meaningful way,” he says.
After graduating, he worked in academia and in the NGO sector in İstanbul before coming to Norway to pursue a Master’s degree. He completed his LL.M. degree in Public International Law in the University of Oslo with a focus on human rights, minority rights and nationalism.
In 2019, he joined the Norwegian Helsinki Committee as an intern and worked in, among others, report writing, legal analysis, project administration and monitoring. Since April 2022, he is working under the CIJ.
He speaks English, Turkish and Norwegian.
