Cameran Ashraf

Cameran Ashraf is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Public Policy and the Doctoral School of Political Science, Public Policy, and International Relations at Central European University. He concurrently serves as the head of Human Rights at the Wikimedia Foundation and co-founder of AccessNow, a global human rights organization dedicated to digital rights. His work has been recognized by the European Parliament’s 2010 Sakharov Prize nomination for AccessNow and the University of California’s Herbert F. York Global Security Fellowship.

Dr. Ashraf’s research focuses on human rights in the digital age, including AI ethics, cybersecurity, and the intersection of technology with geopolitical dynamics. He has advised the International Criminal Court, U.S. Senate offices, and the Kofi Annan Commission. His activism includes co-founding the Azadi Archive, a critical resource for documenting Iran’s Women, Life, Freedom protests.

Education: PhD in Political Science from UCLA (2009–present focus on internet censorship and cyberwar). Professional engagements include speaking at Harvard, MIT, and OSCE, and media appearances in the New York Times and Wired Magazine.

• Key Projects: Azadi Archive, Wikimedia Human Rights Division, AccessNow
• Grants: Herbert F. York Global Security Fellowship

He actively mentors students through CEU’s academic programs and previously served as Deputy Director of the Open Society Foundations Internship for Rights and Governance (2018–2019).