Middle East Studies Association

Iran

July 15, 2019
Committee on Academic Freedom

Limitations and restrictions to foreign nationals teaching at Palestinian universities

Letter demanding Israel lift the restrictions preventing international academics from staying and working in the West Bank, refrain from imposing arbitrary restrictions on the duration of stay or extension of stay for international academics, and order the publication of a clear and lawful procedure for issuing entry visas and work permits for international academics in the West Bank, to enable the university to manage and maintain its academic freedom.

July 11, 2019
Committee on Academic Freedom

New evidence in investigation of murder of PhD student Giulio Regeni

Letter demanding that the Egyptian government investigate new information provided by Italian authorities on suspects in the murder of Italian graduate student Giulio Regeni and end government obstruction of the investigation into his death.

July 09, 2019
Committee on Academic Freedom

Response from AUC Provost to June 7 letter

AUC Provost Ehab Abel-Rahman responds to CAF's letter regarding the termination of the Abdulhadi H. Taher Endowed Chair.

June 14, 2019
Committee on Academic Freedom

Discouraging collaborations between SOAS and the Turkish Council of Higher Education (YÖK)

Letter acknowledging SOAS for cancelling an event organized by the Turkish Council of Higher Education (YÖK) and calling upon SOAS and other reputable institutions to refrain from collaborating with YÖK as long as the current climate of repression for academics persists in Turkey.

June 13, 2019
Committee on Academic Freedom

Threats against Iraqi academics highlighting cases of corruption

Letter to Iraqi authorities expressing concern over the threats made against academics who highlight cases of corruption by Iraqi members of parliament.

June 11, 2019
Committee on Academic Freedom

Continued prosecution and imprisonment of scholars of signatories of “Academics for Peace Petition”

Letter regarding recent developments in the prosecution and specifically imprisonment of scholars who signed the declaration “We will not be a party to this crime”—commonly referred to as the “Academics for Peace Petition.”

June 07, 2019
Committee on Academic Freedom

Termination of AUC Endowed Chair

Letter to the administration of the American University in Cairo to express concerns regarding the termination of the Abdulhadi H. Taher Endowed Chair.

May 22, 2019
Committee on Academic Freedom

Denial of a US Visa to Hanan Ashrawi

Letter protesting the US government's denial of a visa to Palestinian leader Hanan Ashrawi.

May 03, 2019
Committee on Academic Freedom

Hatoon al-Fassi and other women’s rights activists released from prison temporarily

MESA is very pleased to report that Dr. Hatoon al-Fassi was released from prison in Saudi Arabia on May 2, 2019, and has been allowed to return home to her family. Dr. al-Fassi is a renowned historian of women in pre-Islamic Arabia, a prominent advocate for women's rights, and a long-time member of MESA. She was the recipient in November 2018, in absentia, of the MESA Academic Freedom Award, the highest recognition MESA can bestow in acknowledgement of contributions to academic freedom. Dr. al-Fassi's release has been characterized as "temporary;" we continue to call for her full exoneration. We call, as well, for the release of the other women's rights advocates who remain in detention.

May 01, 2019
Committee on Academic Freedom

Health Concerns for Ahmed Mansoor

Letter to UAE authorities expressing concern at reports that the health of internationally-recognized human rights activist Ahmed Mansoor has deteriorated significantly.

April 29, 2019
Committee on Academic Freedom

Israel’s Ruling on Deportation of Omar Shakir

Letter to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Supreme Court Justices and Registrars, Ministers Shaked and Deri expressing grave concerns regarding the Jerusalem District Court’s decision to uphold the deportation of Mr. Omar Shakir on the basis of his human rights advocacy. CAF calls on the Israeli Supreme Court to reverse the district court’s decision. CAF also calls on the Interior Ministry to cease deporting or barring people from entry on the basis of their political views.

April 22, 2019
Committee on Academic Freedom

Contract renewal of Thomas Abowd at Tufts University

Letter calling on Tufts University to adhere to accepted standards of equity and transparency with regard to Dr. Thomas Abowd's contract renewal and to uphold the principles of academic freedom.

April 17, 2019
Committee on Academic Freedom

Attacks on Academic Freedom in Egypt Require Global Response

Scholars at Risk (SAR) and the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression in Egypt (AFTE) have filed a joint submission with the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review (UPR), highlighting attacks and pressures on higher education in Egypt.

April 17, 2019
Committee on Academic Freedom

SAR calls for action against attacks on higher ed communities in Iran

Scholars at Risk (SAR), in cooperation with the Human Rights Law Centre at the University of Nottingham, has filed a submission with the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review, highlighting attacks and pressures on higher education in Iran.

April 17, 2019
Committee on Academic Freedom

US denial of entry to Omar Barghouti

Letter to Secretary of State Pompeo protesting the decision to deny Omar Barghouti entry to the U.S.

April 11, 2019
Committee on Academic Freedom

Arbitrary arrests of Birzeit University students

Letter to Israeli authorities condemning the continued harassment and arbitrary arrests of Palestinian university students by Israeli occupying forces. These arrests and campus incursions violate the right to education and academic freedom, and we call upon Israel to cease these attacks on Palestinian universities.

April 08, 2019
Committee on Academic Freedom

Calling on Kingsborough Community College to defend faculty free speech rights and academic freedom

Letter to the president of Kingsborough Community College and the interim chancellor of the City University of New York calling on them to defend faculty members subjected to baseless accusations of anti-Semitism and harassment, and to uphold the right to free speech and the principles of academic freedom.

April 04, 2019
Committee on Academic Freedom

Prolonged Detention of Academics in Iran

Letter to Iranian authorities protesting the prolonged detention of Iranian, dual-national, and foreign national academics in Iran.

April 01, 2019
Committee on Academic Freedom

Florida House Bill conflates criticism of Israel and Zionism with anti-Semitism

Letter criticizing the definition of anti-Semitism in HB 741, a bill under consideration by the Florida House of Representatives, because it conflates criticism of Israel and Zionism with anti-Semitism, thereby threatening the right to free speech and academic freedom at Florida's institutions of higher education.

March 21, 2019
Committee on Academic Freedom

Recent developments concerning the prosecution of Peace Petition signatories and targeting of scholars

Letter regarding recent developments in the prosecution of scholars who signed the declaration “We will not be a party to this crime”—commonly referred to as the “Academics for Peace Petition”—as well as the ongoing targeting of scholars whose research exposes threats emanating from the Turkish government’s policies in areas such as public health and environmental regulation.

March 15, 2019
Committee on Academic Freedom

Public Smear Campaign against Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian and Hebrew University’s Failure to Protect Her

Letter denouncing the aggressive public smear campaign against Professor Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian related to her research and expressing concern regarding the Hebrew University’s failure to protect her.

February 18, 2019
Committee on Academic Freedom

ATCA’s Effect on the Right to Education for Palestinian Students

Letter to President Trump, Secretary Pompeo, and Members of the Senate and House of Representatives expressing opposition to the passage of the Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act (ATCA) of 2018, as it results in the denial of the right to education to Palestinian students from the West Bank and Gaza Strip in a MEPI program. CAF calls on Congress and the President to cancel ATCA.

January 22, 2019
Committee on Academic Freedom

Israeli Arrests of Palestinian Students and Professors, Israeli Assaults on Palestinian Campuses

Letter condemning the arbitrary arrests and detention of Palestinian students and professors as well as the assaults on Palestinian universities. These measures are a clear violation of Palestinian academic freedom.

January 18, 2019
Committee on Academic Freedom

State Security Court upholds 10 year prison sentence of Ahmed Mansoor

Letter to UAE authorities protesting the decision of the State Security Court of the Federal Supreme Court to uphold the 10 year prison sentence imposed on human rights advocate Ahmed Mansoor in 2018.

January 07, 2019
Committee on Academic Freedom

Concern for health of Nasser bin Ghaith, sentenced to 10 years in 2017

Letter to UAE authorities expressing concern for the health of Nasser bin Ghaith, a professor of economics sentenced to ten years' imprisonment in 2017 for "insulting" the UAE in public statements and tweets, who is on hunger-strike.

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