Academic Freedom | Joint Response to Iranian Authorities from BRISMES, SeSaMO and MESA
H.E. Mr. Mohammadreza Sabouri
Ambassador, IRI Embassy in Italy
Sent by Email: iranemb.rom@mfa.gov.ir
Your Excellency,
We thank you for your answer to our letter of 10th September 2024 about the violations of academic freedom that are taking place in Iran.
We were disappointed, however, that your response made no reference to the contents of our letter on the situation for academics in Iran. It appears clear from your response, which discussed the situation in Palestine and academic freedom on Palestine, that you have not had the opportunity to make yourself familiar with the work that our associations’ Committees on Academic Freedom have done in the past years with regard to the situation in Palestine, and in terms of academic freedom to discuss Palestine.
As you can see from the websites of BRISMES, MESA and SeSaMO, all three associations have been clear and vocal in condemning the attacks on Palestinian students and academics by the Israeli military and by Israeli institutions; in defending the academic freedom of our Palestinian colleagues in Israeli universities, as in the recent case of Prof. Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian among others; in defending the rights of our colleagues employed in the universities of our respective countries to express opinions critical of Israel and Zionism; in denouncing the IHRA definition of antisemitism as a violation of academic freedom; in condemning acts of genocide and ethnic cleansing committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territories by the Israeli military; and in defending students and faculty targetted for their outspokeness in our respective countries from police and institutional violence.
You can find some of our statements and letters about these topics below.
The Middle East Studies Association (MESA)
Letters & statements from the MESA Board re: Palestine:
https://mesana.org/advocacy/letters-from-the-board/-/-/palestine-israel
Letters from CAF-Middle East and North Africa re: Palestine
https://mesana.org/advocacy/committee-on-academic-freedom/-/-/palestine-israel
Letters from CAF-North America re: repression of campus solidarity with the Palestinian people since 7 Oct. 2023
https://mesana.org/advocacy/committee-on-academic-freedom/-/-/us https://mesana.org/advocacy/committee-on-academic-freedom/-/-/canada
The British Society for Middle East Studies (BRISMES)
Letters & statements from BRISMES Council re: repression of campus solidarity with Palestine and violations of academic freedom in Palestine, the UK and Europe:
https://www.brismes.ac.uk/advocacy/advocacy-by-brismes-council
Letters & statements from BRISMES Committee on Academic Freedom re: violations of academic freedom and freedom of speech in the UK, Germany, Israel, Iraq, Iran, The Netherlands, Lebanon, Bahrain:
https://www.brismes.ac.uk/advocacy/committee-on-academic-freedom
The Italian Society for Middle East Studies (SeSaMO)
Letters & statements from SeSaMO Committee on Academic Freedom re: repression of campus solidarity with Palestine and violations of academic freedom and freedom of speech in Italy, Israel, Palestine, Egypt:
https://www.sesamoitalia.it/comitato-per-la-liberta-accademica/
As you will therefore clearly see, our Committees on Academic Freedom consistently support and defend the rights of academics both within our respective countries and within the Middle East and North Africa. We respectfully repeat our request that you address the content of our letter, which details an extremely concerning pattern of violations of academic freedom in Iran.
We look forward to receiving your reply.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Nicola Pratt BRISMES President
Dr Lewis Turner Chair of BRISMES Committee on Academic Freedom
Professor Rosita Di Peri SeSaMO President
Dr Maria Chiara Rioli Chair of SeSaMO Committee on Academic Freedom
Professor Aslı Ü. Bâli MESA President
Professor Emerita Laurie Brand Chair of MESA Committee on Academic Freedom