About Us
Mission Statement
Freedom Now protects individuals and communities from government repression and defends human rights through direct legal support, targeted high-leverage advocacy, and capacity-building analysis and assistance.
Since 2001, Freedom Now has sought to end arbitrary detention and associated human rights abuses. For nearly two decades we have provided pro bono legal representation to individual prisoners of conscience throughout the world. We have represented nearly 200 wrongfully detained individuals, lifting up voices that authoritarian governments seek to silence. We have won cases before international legal tribunals and mobilized influential allies to bring maximum pressure to bear on repressive regimes.
Politically-motivated prosecution is not the only tool used to suppress fundamental rights. Oppressive laws and corrupt institutions are a direct threat to civil society and democratic norms. Freedom Now understands a holistic approach is necessary to truly combat human rights abuses. To this end, we work on several interconnected issues, including prison conditions, transnational repression, rehabilitation of former prisoners of conscience, and supporting civil society and international action.
You can read about our recent successes in our 2025 Annual Report. A copy of our most recent 990 report can be found here.
Staff
Andrea J. Prasow
Executive Director
Andrea J. Prasow is the executive director of Freedom Now. A lawyer and global human rights advocate, Andrea’s expertise includes U.S. national security and foreign policy. She is a frequent commentator in print, radio and television, and has published in a wide range of media outlets, including Politico, The Hill, Foreign Policy, Newsweek, The Guardian, The Huffington Post, and Just Security. Prior to joining Freedom Now, Andrea served as executive director of the Freedom Initiative, an organization dedicated to freeing political prisoners in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as 12 years at Human Rights Watch, pressing the U.S. government to place the protection and promotion of human rights at the center of its foreign and national security policies. She has previously worked as a defense lawyer in the Office of Military Commissions, representing detainees in Guantanamo charged in the military commission system. In private practice at a New York law firm, Andrea served as habeas counsel for detainees in Guantanamo, as well as practiced corporate litigation. Andrea holds an Honors B.A. from the University of Toronto, and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. She is admitted to practice law in the State of New York and the District of Columbia.
Karl Horberg
Program Director
Karl Horberg joined Freedom Now in December 2014. In his role as Program Director he is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the organization, including all financial aspects, human resources, IT, and vendor relations. Previously, he was an Operations Manager for a grant writing consulting firm and a Program Officer for Connect U.S. Fund, where he managed a grant portfolio of $2 million. Karl served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Balykchy, Kyrgyzstan from 2004-2006. He holds a BA in Political Science from American University and an MSC in Human Rights from the London School of Economics.
Adam Lhedmat
Legal Officer
Adam Lhedmat is a legal officer at Freedom Now. Prior to joining Freedom Now, he was a Staff Attorney with the International Justice Resource Center where he provided support to advocates bringing claims before regional and universal human rights systems. Additionally, Adam previously worked both with the WANA Institute where he researched transitional justice solutions for the Syrian conflict, and with the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners where he participated in advocacy efforts to release political prisoners in Myanmar. He holds a J.D. from the University California, Irvine School of Law, as well as an MPhil in Philosophy from the University of Cambridge and a B.A. in Philosophy from New York University.
Daphne Panayotatos
Advocacy & Campaigns Director
Daphne Panayotatos joined Freedom Now as advocacy and campaigns director in September 2024. Previously, she served as senior policy advisor and associate director in the Global Advocacy department of the Open Society Foundations, the largest private funder of independent groups advancing human rights, democratic governance, and justice. Immediately prior, she worked as a researcher and advocate at Refugees International, urging humane, effective responses to forced displacement and humanitarian crises in Europe and South America. Daphne began her career at Open Society, where she helped develop and support programs’ learning, monitoring, and assessment practices and strategy development. Daphne holds a B.S. in International Politics from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and an M.A. in International Relations & International Economics from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), with a concentration in international law & organizations
Yalda Royan
Afghanistan Program Officer
Yalda Royan is an Afghan women’s rights activist and senior development professional with extensive leadership experience in national and international NGOs. She has spearheaded women’s rights initiatives in Afghanistan where she sought to advance women’s political, economic and social participation. When she was evacuated to the United States in August 2021, she was working as a consultant for the World Bank to respond to issues of gender-based violence in the public health sector. She has vast expertise in designing and leading gender initiatives across women’s empowerment, gender-based violence, conflict resolution, and peace and security, and holds a master's degree in gender and women's studies from Kabul University
Sara Hakimi
Afghanistan Program Officer
Sara Hakimi is a former Afghan diplomat, and a former fellow and representative at NATO Defense College in Rome, Italy. At the Afghanistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), she served as the Desk Officer for Counter-Narcotics and Counter Terrorism, Desk Officer for Central Asia and China, and Desk Officer for Bonn. Sara had official assignments in Turkmenistan, Iran, Germany, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Italy, and Portugal. Previously, Sara worked in the public policy sphere in Afghanistan as a Policy Analyst at the Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG), and in program coordination and management roles at different agencies. Sara holds a master's in Security Studies from Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS), Georgetown University. She also has a master’s in International Relations from Kabul University. She did a post-graduate course in Political Diplomacy at the Institute of Diplomacy, MoFA. She received her B.A. in Political Science and Public Administration from the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF). She has immense experience in the field of international affairs and diplomacy, having worked with practitioners and scholars all across the world. Sara specializes in research and policy analysis, with a particular emphasis on the Middle East and South Asia regions. Additionally, she possesses expertise in counter-terrorism and extremism initiatives, including a deep understanding of the political and military dynamics involving non-state actors. She speaks Persian, Pashto, Hindi, and French.
Grace Roundcount
Program Assistant
Grace Roundcount joined Freedom Now in September 2025. Previously, she worked at the U.S. Institute of Peace, where she supported the U.S. Civil Society Working Group on Women, Peace, and Security, and coordinated research on authoritarian governance, gender equity, and civil society resilience. Grace holds a B.A. in International Studies with a concentration in Peace, Human Rights, and Cultural Relations and an M.A. in International Peace and Conflict Resolution from American University.
Board of Directors
Jeremy Zucker
Jeremy Zucker is the Chair of Freedom Now and the chair of the National Security practice at Dechert LLP in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining Dechert, Jeremy was a partner in the international trade group of Hogan Lovells. Jeremy also served as a law clerk at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, The Netherlands. Jeremy holds a B.A. in ethics, politics, and economics from Yale University, a Master in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and a J.D. magna cum laude from New York University Law School, where he was editor-in-chief of the NYU Journal of International Law and Politics and a Fellow of the Center for International Studies.
Peter Magyar
Peter Magyar is the founder of Magyar & Co, a boutique international law firm. Previously he was Senior Partner and General Counsel of an international investment group with over $6 billion of assets and a Partner of Baker & McKenzie, where he headed the firm’s European securities practice and was a member of the London office’s Management Committee and the Managing Partner of its Budapest office. Peter is the recipient of various awards and citations in the legal press recognizing his work in the fields of privatization and international capital markets. He holds degrees from The London School of Economics and Oxford University. He will be helping lead Freedom Now’s expansion into Europe.
Thomas Dohrmann
Gregory K. McGillivary
Gregory K. McGillivary is the managing partner in the Washington, D.C. law firm of McGillivary Steele Elkin LLP, which represents unions and employees nationwide in all areas of labor law, including wage and hour violations, First Amendment rights, collective bargaining, grievance/arbitration, and human rights related to labor advocacy. Greg served for six years as the Union Chair of the American Bar Association’s Federal Labor Standards Committee. He is the editor-in-chief of the treatise State Wage and Hour Laws and a senior editor of the treatise The Fair Labor Standards Act. He is a graduate of the University of Oregon Law School, where he was articles editor of the Oregon Law Review, and received his B.A. from Northwestern University.
Joshua Newcomer
Joshua Newcomer is an attorney in the Houston, Texas office of the law firm McKool Smith P.C. Prior to joining McKool Smith, Joshua was an attorney at the international law firm Hogan Lovells LLP. Joshua served as a law clerk to Judge Carolyn King on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and Judge William Yohn Jr. on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Joshua earned a B.A., cum laude, majoring in history and political communications from the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D., magna cum laude, from the James E. Beasley School of Law at Temple University, where he was articles editor of the Temple Law Review.
Peter Choharis
Peter Choharis is the founder of Choharis Global Solutions, an international law and consulting firm. He has more than twenty years of experience as a U.S. litigator and international dispute specialist and has appeared in trial and appellate courts at the federal and state level throughout the United States. He is also an Adjunct Fellow at the American Security Project, and prior to that was a Visiting Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. More than two dozen of his articles on foreign affairs and international law have appeared in The New York Times (Global), International Herald Tribune, Forbes, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, and many other publications. Peter graduated from Yale Law School and Harvard College, where he was awarded the Sheldon Traveling Fellowship and numerous other prizes.
Hrishikesh Hari
Hrishikesh Hari is a partner in the National Security practice of Dechert LLP in Washington, D.C. He has represented many dozens of prisoners of conscience around the world and regularly advises boards of non-profits on a range of corporate governance matters. Hrishi holds a B.A., magna cum laude, in history and political science from Rice University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School, where he was editor-in-chief of the Harvard Human Rights Journal.
Fadzai Madzingira
Fadzai Madzingira is a Trust & Safety professional with a decade of experience in policy development and responsible technology. She has led teams at Meta, Salesforce and Ofcom. These roles included being the Global Hate Speech Policy Lead leading hate speech policy enforcement across Meta products and the EMEA Lead in Salesforce's Office of Ethical and Humane Use of Technology coordinating the company's road to internet regulation compliance. Fadzai's focus areas include policy development in Hate Speech, Slurs, Adult Nudity, Adult Sexual Activity and building internet regulation compliance programs. As a Rhodes Scholar from Zimbabwe, she read for a Bachelor of Civil Laws and a Master in Public Policy at Oxford University.
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