Alexandra Matiasko
Lawyer and Chair
Alexandra obtained a legal degree at the Pan-European University in Bratislava in 2009 and completed the Human Rights LL.M. programme at the Central European University in Budapest in 2010. She is a founding member of the Forum for Human Rights. Between 2015-2019 she worked as an Assistant Lawyer at the European Court of Human Rights. She focuses on international human rights law, migration law, and refugee protection, with a particular focus on the rights of persons in immigration detention and the rights of vulnerable persons. She is a PhD candidate at the European University Institute.
Email: dubova@forumhr.eu
Maros Matiasko
Lawyer
Maros is an attorney at law as of 2013. In 2015, he co-founded the Forum for Human Rights, which he directs as of 2019. Between 2016 and 2018 he worked at the Registry of the European Court of Human Rights. He completed his legal studies at the Palacký University in Olomouc and obtained a bachelor’s degree in psychology at the Masaryk University in Brno. In 2011, he completed post-gradual studies of international law of human rights in Utrecht. In his practice, he focuses on the preparation and leading of human rights cases through individual and collective strategic litigation. He publishes in the areas of human rights, human rights philosophy, prohibition of ill-treatment, and the rights of persons with disabilities. He is a PhD candidate at Essex University and in the Legal Department of Palacký University. He also studies philosophy.
Email: matiasko@forumhr.eu
Anna Slezkova
Lawyer
Anna completed her legal studies at Masaryk University in Brno. She worked for several non-governmental organisations and at the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic. Anna focuses primarily on children’s rights, where she seeks a greater account of human rights discourse and the rights-based approach. She also has expertise in the rights of persons with disabilities and the protection of vulnerable persons. Anna leads a human rights course for social workers at the Faculty of Philosophy in Prague and is a PhD candidate at the Legal Department of Palacký University.
Email: slezkova@forumhr.eu
Adam Macaj
Lawyer
Adam received his degree from Comenius University in Bratislava and has worked with Forum for Human Rights since 2018. During his studies, he gained experience abroad from the University of Helsinki, Finland, as a trainee at the European Court of Human Rights, Strasbourg, and in the Office of Ombudsperson of Slovakia. In his practice and academic activities, he focuses mainly on the protection of vulnerable groups and persons with disabilities, non-discrimination, EU law, and international criminal law.
Email: macaj@forumhr.eu
Sandra Zatkova
Lawyer
Sandra is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of International Law and International Relations of the Comenius University in Bratislava, Faculty of Law. She teaches public international law, but her main scientific focus is on human rights in the context of new technology. She is also involved in projects developing practical legal skills for students and graduates. Her experience stems from studying abroad and working in various institutions, including the European Court of Human Rights, the Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic, and law firms with different specialisations.
Email: zatkova@forumhr.eu
Diana Repiscakova
Lawyer
Diana is a PhD candidate at the Department of Constitutional Law and Administrative Law of the Faculty of Law of Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice. On campus, she leads seminars on administrative law, and, as part of her doctoral studies, she researches legal measures of protection against extremism. Her successfully defended, rigorous thesis explored the regulation of hate speech on social networks. In FORUM, she coordinates volunteers in monitoring and documenting hate speech on social media and prepares legal action.
Email: repiscakova@forumhr.eu
Barbora Besenejova
Volunteer Coordinator and PR Specialist
Barbora is a Bologna University student in the M.A. programme of International Cooperation on Human Rights and Cultural Heritage. She holds a B.A. degree from Jagiellonian University, Krakow, in “International Relations and Area Studies, specialising in Europe and the MENA region. Through Erasmus+ study mobility, she completed a semester at the Institute of Political Studies Sciences Po in France. In FORUM, she is a volunteer coordinator and focuses on intersectionality and the issue of antigypsyism.
Email: besenejova@forumhr.eu
Michal Zalesak
Lawyer
Michal studied law at the Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica and human rights specialisation at the Central European University in Budapest (LL.M.). He currently works as an attorney in Bratislava and cooperates with the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC). Michal is involved in strategic litigation for the rights of ethnic minorities and protection against discrimination.
Email: zalesak.michal@gmail.com
Klara Prochazkova
Lawyer and translator
Klára completed her legal studies at the Palacký University in Olomouc at the Faculty of Law and German Studies with a focus on interpretation and translation at the Faculty of Arts. She gained professional experience during her study stays and internships abroad in Germany, Austria and France. She became familiar with work at a law firm in Passau, at the Regional Criminal Court in Vienna, and in translation and culture in Brest. After a year as a trainee lawyer at an international law firm, she decided to focus on human rights.
Email: prochazkova@forumhr.eu
Denisa Kramarova
Consultant
Denisa completed her legal studies at Masaryk University in Brno, where she now also works as an external lecturer. She has worked for the League of Human Rights and its social enterprise, LLP Vision, which focuses on training professionals in human rights topics. She gained experience assessing the quality of care for people with mental illness at the Ministry of Health. Denisa currently works in the Czech Ombudsman’s Office and has a professional focus on the rights of people with disabilities and the rights of vulnerable groups.
Email: kramarova@forumhr.eu
Lucka Cangarova
Consultant
Lucka studied mass media communication at the University of St. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava (B.Sc.) and journalism at Comenius University in Bratislava (Mgr.). She has worked in the social field since 2006, and nowadays, as a Social Work Advisory Board director. She is professionally engaged in creating plain language for people with disabilities. She is the author of publications in an easy-to-read format. She actively works to promote the transition process from institutional to community-based care in the Slovak Republic and to promote the human rights of people with disabilities. She is a doctoral student at the University of Trnava in social work.
Email: cangarova@forumhr.eu
Kristyna Srncova
Financial Manager
Kristýna graduated from the Faculty of Economics in Brno. Accounting was her favourite subject in high school, so she found her first job in a non-profit organisation as a chief accountant and project manager. She then decided to broaden her horizons in the private sector, and currently, she works as a chief accountant for a private company. Kristýna has been working at Forum since its foundation. She is in charge of financial project management and all accounting. She would like to take the tax exams in the future.
Email: srncova@forumhr.eu
Tereza Stankova
Intern
Tereza is a 4th-year student at the Faculty of Law at Charles University in Prague. She has done internships at the Senate of the Czech Republic, Respekt newspaper, or the Human Rights and Transition Policy Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She co-founded a human rights-oriented student association at the Faculty of Law. After the Russian invasion, she volunteered with Hlavák Initiative.
Email: stankova@forumhr.eu
Celeste Chisese
Intern
Celeste is a 5th-year student at the Faculty of Law at Charles University in Prague. She spent two semesters at the University of Helsinki in Finland as part of the Erasmus+ program, focusing on topics related to international human rights. She gained practical experience as a legal assistant and attended a human rights summer school program. Her main interests are environmentalism and minority rights.
Simon Matousek
Intern
Simon is a third-year student at the Faculty of Law of Charles University. During his studies, he completed an internship in the discrimination department of the Public Defender’s Office and worked in a law firm. He works for Amnesty International as a volunteer lecturer. He also works at the Department of International Law of the Faculty of Law as a student research assistant.