2022
Annual Report
Executive Director's Message
“WE WILL NOT STOP.” Despite historic challenges, we learned this year that our network is stronger than ever. We have helped more scholars than ever find safety. More institutions are coming forward, saying “Yes, we can do more.” More individuals are asking “How can we help?” And we are just getting started.
Last year began for SAR responding to the tragedy in Afghanistan, where the Taliban has worked to erase two decades of educational progress. They have since all but banned women and girls from education, and driven thousands into exile, including many scholars and students. SAR added staff and expedited processing; we have arranged more than 60 positions for Afghans so far–along with 178 dependents–and we won’t stop until we have created opportunities for everyone we can.
Mid-year SAR responded to the Russian invasion by preparing to meet the needs of scholars and students fleeing the war in Ukraine, as well as Russians opposed to the war fleeing the Putin regime’s domestic crackdown. Learning from prior crises, SAR Europe together with the Philipp Schwartz Initiative and European University Association launched MSCA4Ukraine, a new EU-funded fellowship scheme to support hundreds of Ukrainian scholars in exile in Europe, including support for them to return and to rebuild Ukraine as soon as conditions permit.
Of course, throughout the year we continued to support colleagues attacked by governments and non-state actors around the world, including Yemen, Myanmar, Ethiopia, Cameroon, and beyond. And as the year came to a close, massive protests were just beginning in Iran. Scholars, students, and university campuses were again targeted with tear gas, bullets, and mass arrests, all because the regime is afraid of young women thinking and sharing their ideas. And as with earlier crises, SAR will be there when we are inevitably called to help.
Throughout the year, SAR members and partners responded to these challenges, and we are so grateful. Together, we helped arrange 171 positions for threatened colleagues–more than any prior year. Faculty and student advocates helped win the release of imprisoned students and scholars in Egypt and Bahrain, while ensuring that those still detained are not forgotten. With partners in the new Coalition for Academic Freedom in the Americas (CAFA), we pressed the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to adopt new Principles of Academic Freedom and Autonomy, a milestone document that will anchor regional advocacy for years to come. We strengthened and grew our network, and together demonstrated through our words and our deeds that we will not stop, we will persist in doing everything we can to defend the right to think, question, and share ideas.
It is with the deepest gratitude to all our SAR network members, partners, and supporters that I share with you this summary of our collective accomplishments over this past year. We could not do this without you, and I look forward to doing even more together in the years ahead.
In solidarity and with deep gratitude,
ROB QUINN
The Network
Scholars at Risk (SAR) is an international network of over 650 higher education institutions and associations in 43 countries, 16 national sections (with several more forming), and 14 partnerships with leading higher education networks, that all voluntarily associate themselves with SAR and help extend SAR-related activities to every region of the world.
All network members share SAR’s mission of protecting threatened scholars and promoting academic freedom. Together, we meet this mission through three core activity areas: protection (casework or direct assistance); advocacy (campaigns for individuals and academic freedom generally); and research and learning (publications, conferences, workshops, and trainings). Some network members and partners are active in all three areas, while others might be active in only one area (for example, by hosting a threatened scholar or by leading a SAR-affiliated student seminar), but SAR is the only group that combines these three areas of work under a single, self-identified community of institutions and individuals.
The need for SAR’s work has increased exponentially, placing growing demands on our services. Populist and authoritarian regimes continue to grow in number and are actively working to restrict academic freedom, while ongoing refugee crises, armed conflicts, and climate disasters contribute to record numbers of scholars seeking help, with over 1,000 requests under review or receiving services.
The higher education community is responding and our global network continues to grow, meaning more opportunities to help scholars, raise awareness, and demand greater protection for universities, scholars, students, and academic freedom.

This year’s Free to Think report spotlighted 24 countries and territories of concern when it came to academic freedom.
SAR Sections, Partners & Hubs
The SAR network is increasingly organized into national sections—geographic groupings of higher education institutions organized for the specific purpose of participating in SAR-related activities.
These are joined by partner networks— formal associations between SAR and pre-existing networks of higher education institutions. All of these are represented through SAR’s International Advisory Committee (IAC), which is the voice of the network membership to SAR’s governing board. The IAC embeds an international perspective into SAR’s structure and governance and provides a forum and communication channel for all involved. This allows for greater coordination of activities across regions, more sharing of best practices leading to improved support for scholars, and more opportunities to advance academic freedom worldwide. Most recently, these have been joined by regional advocacy “hubs” in Africa and Latin America, made up of researchers and academic staff collaborating on projects aimed at increasing awareness and protection of academic freedom.
SAR Sections & Partner Networks
SAR network members are increasingly organized into national SAR “sections.”
SAR Canada
SAR Denmark
SAR Finland
SAR Flanders (with Flemish Interuniversity Council (VLIR))
SAR Germany
SAR Greece
SAR Ireland
SAR Italy
SAR Netherlands
SAR Norway
SAR Slovakia
SAR Sweden
SAR Switzerland
UK-SAR universities network (with the Council for At-Risk Academics (Cara,))
SAR United States
Partner Networks
SAR has arrangements with many major higher education associations including, for example, the European University Association and the European Association for International Education.
An International Advisory Committee (IAC)
The IAC is comprised of representatives of the sections and partner networks serves as the voice of the network membership and advises the SAR staff and board on SAR policies and programming.
Hadi Mohammadi
Scholar Story
Hadi Mohammadi
AFGHANISTAN | It was a terrible day when I witnessed the unexpected fall of Kabul. On the 15th of August 2021, I was teaching at Kateb University when two of my students received repeated calls from their parents about the arrival of the Taliban in Kabul and that they should leave the university and return home as soon as possible. The fear, apprehension, and worry that appeared in the eyes of those two students and the news of the fall of Kabul made all my students worried and scared. It was at the end of the first half of my class that several students left the class and returned home, especially female students due to their greater vulnerability and frequent calls from their family members. I finished my class normally but with a deep fear and worry.
As the last person to leave the class, I saw that the university campus, which used to be difficult to find a way out because of the high concentration of students, was completely empty and I saw only two university guards who called out “Teacher, leave, the Taliban have arrived at the gates of Kabul!”. After leaving the gate of the university campus and seeing the roaring flood of a wandering nation in the streets of Kabul, I trembled and lost the power to move. I could hardly walk back to my room.
It was a very sad and fearful day and with the knowledge I had about the previous dark period of the Taliban and living in the shadow of their oppression, terror, and violence, I unconsciously imagined a dangerous and dark future for all the people, especially for the scientific community of Afghanistan. As a university lecturer and a Ph.D. candidate, everything was almost over for me that day and I thought that all my efforts and dreams for the development of Afghanistan’s education and scientific community were destroyed. But I never lost hope and started looking for options to continue my career and academic activities, and luckily, I found the Scholars at Risk Network.
I will never forget how the SAR Network rushed to help Afghanistan’s scholar community and stood by us with all its strength. The SAR Network in cooperation with Brandeis University not only gave me hope for better days in that difficult time of my life in Kabul, but also provided me with their comprehensive and non-stop support to continue my studies and work in a safe environment here in the United States.
Scholar Name Goes Here
Protection
SAR’s core protection work provides direct assistance to threatened scholars, including arranging temporary research and teaching positions at SAR member institutions, advising on careers and transitions, and a range of other services.
Scholars Seeking Assistance
Due to spreading conflicts and pressures on academics and universities around the world, SAR has continued to receive an elevated number of requests in recent years; this year receiving 1,770 new applications, including a high volume of applications from Afghanistan. This year, we received applications from individuals in 45 countries, the top five countries being Afghanistan, Ukraine, Ethiopia, Turkey, and Yemen.
Higher Education Communities Respond
The global SAR Network is responding to these pressures on academic freedom by assisting scholars who are directly affected. Together, we helped 300 scholars this year, including arranging 171 positions. These positions represent over US $8 million contributed by host campuses and partners that directly supports at-risk scholars and their families. Since SAR’s inception in 2000, our network has helped over 1,700 scholars and created over 1,700 positions at 300 host campuses, representing over US $42 million of support for colleagues under threat.
Other Services
Beyond arranging positions, SAR provides scholars with advice, legal referrals, career advisement, and other services, and has provided these to 276 scholars this year and over 1,700 in our history. SAR staff lead training workshops for scholars and hosts, with over 500 participants in the last five years. The trainings share best practices for hosts and prepare scholars to graduate from SAR support by identifying next opportunities, in exile or upon return.
Emergency Assistance Grants
SAR also provides gap-filling emergency assistance grants. This year SAR provided 80 emergency grants to scholars for in-country needs; travel for interviews, conferences, or to take up new positions; visa fees; legal costs; family support for those detained or facing charges; or supplemental support to address challenges presented by the pandemic and related travel restrictions. SAR also provides support to public intellectuals, activists, writers, artists, and other “practitioners at risk” who suffer attacks or restrictions because of their work defending free inquiry, free expression, human rights, and democratic values.
Hosts 2021-2022
SAR is grateful to the universities that have created positions for scholars throughout our history, and especially those listed below who created positions last year. The list includes positions that commenced last year, remote positions, positions arranged that will be taken up shortly, as well as positions offered which have not yet commenced due to arrest, travel restrictions, visa denials, COVID-19 or other external factors.
- Alice Salomon Hochschule Berlin
- Arizona State University
- Barnard College
- Brandeis University
- Carleton College
- Carleton University
- Carnegie Mellon University
- Clark University
- Columbia University
- Danish Institute for International Studies
- Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne-EPFL
- Emory University
- ETH Zürich
- Florida Atlantic University
- Forum Transregionale Studien
- Friedrich–Alexander University Erlangen–Nürnberg
- Georgetown University
- Ghent University
- Goethe University Frankfurt
- Grand Valley State University
- Hasselt University
- Haverford College
- Heidelberg University
- Hochschule Trier
- Humboldt University of Berlin
- Jagiellonian University
- Johns Hopkins University
- Julius Kühn-Institute
- Karolinska Institutet
- KU Leuven
- Leibniz Universität Hannover
- Leipzig University
- Linköping University
- Linnaeus University
- Lund University
- Malmo University
- Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg
- Maynooth University
- Memorial University of Newfoundland
- New York University
- Nord University
- Norwegian University of Life Sciences
- Norwegian University of Science & Technology
- Oslo Metropolitan University
- Pennsylvania State University
- Philipps-Universität Marburg
- Roger Williams University
- Ruhr University Bochum
- Saint Mary’s University
- Simon Fraser University
- Stockholm University
- Technische Hochschule Lübeck
- Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg
- Technische Universität Chemnitz
- Technische Universität Dresden
- Technische Universität München
- Tufts University
- Tulane University
- Università della Svizzera italiana (Lugano)
- University of Agder
- University of Antwerp
- University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Western Switzerland
- University of Bern
- University of Bonn
- University of Bremen
- University of California at Berkeley
- University of California, Davis
- University of California, Irvine
- University of Canterbury
- University of Coimbra
- University of Cologne
- University of Connecticut
- University of Duisburg-Essen
- University of Düsseldorf
- University of Florida
- University of Freiburg
- University of Geneva
- University of Gothenburg
- University of Göttingen
- University of Groningen
- University of Hamburg
- University of Hildesheim
- University of Hohenheim
- University of Kassel
- University of Lausanne
- University of Münster
- University of New South Wales
- University of Oslo
- University of Ottawa
- University of Portsmouth
- University of Rochester
- University of Siegen
- University of South-Eastern Norway
- University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
- University of Trento
- University of Tromso
- University of Turin
- University of Turku
- University of Verona
- University of Windsor
- Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
- Vrije Universiteit Brussel
- Wesleyan University
- Western Norway University of Applied Sciences
- Western University
- Wheaton College
- Whitman College
- Wilfrid Laurier University
- Williams College
- Xavier University of Louisiana
- York University
Scholar Name Goes Here
Scholars Hosted
During the 2021–2022 academic year, host campuses and other partners created positions for the scholars listed below by their discipline and country. The list includes positions commenced that year, positions arranged that will be taken up shortly, and remote positions, as well as positions offered which have not yet commenced due to arrest, travel restrictions, visa denials, COVID-19, or other external factors.
- Archaeology (Iran)
- Archaeology (Sudan)
- Comparative Education (Yemen)
- Education (Afghanistan)
- Education (Pakistan)
- Education (Turkey)
- Educational Administration (Turkey)
- Language and Linguistics (Syria)
- Literature (Afghanistan)
- Literature (Afghanistan)
- Music (Afghanistan)
- Music (Nigeria)
- Painting (Turkey)
- Persian Literature (Afghanistan)
- Persian Literature (Afghanistan)
- Philosophy (Turkey)
- Science Education (Turkey)
- Special Needs Education (Afghanistan)
- Social Studies Education (Turkey)
- Theatre Studies (Afghanistan)
- Theatre Studies (Iran)
- Threatre and Cinema (Afghanistan)
- Translation Studies (Syria)
Journalism & Writing (5)
- Journalism and Poetry (Afghanistan)
- Journalism (Afghanistan)
- Journalism (Afghanistan)
- Journalism (Afghanistan)
- Political Satire and Journalism (Iran)
Business & Finance (4)
- Business and Management (Turkey)
- Finance (Afghanistan)
- Gender Equity and Finance (Afghanistan)
- Management (Turkey)
Law & Human Rights (8)
- International Law (Ethiopia)
- Law (Afghanistan)
- Law (Afghanistan)
- Law (Afghanistan)
- Law (Afghanistan)
- Law (Afghanistan)
- Law (Uganda)
- Sustainable International Development Law (Afghanistan)
Mathematics & Information Sciences (12)
- Algorithms and Data Structures (Russia)
- Computer Science (Afghanistan)
- Computer Science (Afghanistan)
- Computer Science (Afghanistan)
- Computer Science (Yemen)
- Computer Science (Yemen)
- Mathematics (Turkey)
- Mathematics (Turkey)
- Mathematics Education (Turkey)
- Mathematics Education (Turkey)
- Software Engineering (Yemen)
- Systems Engineering (Afghanistan)
Medicine & Public Health (16)
- Cardiology (Afghanistan)
- Epidemiology (Afghanistan)
- Food and Nutrition (Afghanistan)
- Genetics (Turkey)
- Health (Myanmar)
- Histology (Turkey)
- Medical Physiology (Afghanistan)
- Medical Physiology (Afghanistan)
- Medicine (Turkey)
- Medicine (Turkey)
- Medical Science (Afghanistan)
- Neuroscience (Turkey)
- Nursing and Midwifery (Ethiopia)
- Pediatric Medicine (Turkey)
- Public Health (Afghanistan)
- Public Health (Afghanistan)
Physical & Life Sciences (60)
- Agriculture (Syria)
- Agriculture (Yemen)
- Agricultural Engineering (Syria)
- Agriculture Engineering (Afghanistan)
- Agriculture Engineering (Afghanistan)
- Agriculture Engineering (Afghanistan)
- Agronomy (Afghanistan)
- Analytical Chemistry (Turkey)
- Animal Science (Ethiopia)
- Biochemistry (Afghanistan)
- Biology (Afghanistan)
- Biology (Myanmar)
- Biotechnology (Yemen)
- Botany (Myanmar)
- Chemistry (Afghanistan)
- Chemistry (Myanmar)
- Chemistry (Turkey)
- Chemistry (Turkey)
- Chemistry (Yemen)
- Civil Engineering (Afghanistan)
- Civil Engineering (Afghanistan)
- Civil Engineering (Turkey)
- Environmental Engineering (Afghanistan)
- Environmental Engineering (Turkey)
- Environmental Science (Afghanistan)
- Genetics and Plant Breeding (Afghanistan)
- Geography (Afghanistan)
- Geography (Turkey)
- Geography (Yemen)
- Geology (Afghanistan)
- Geology (Myanmar)
- Horticulture (Syria)
- Industrial Engineering (Turkey)
- Industrial Engineering (Turkey)
- Materials Engineering (Turkey)
- Materials Engineering (Turkey)
- Mechanical Engineering (Iran)
- Mechanical Engineering (Syria)
- Mechanical Engineering (Syria)
- Medicinal Chemistry (Syria)
- Molecular Medicine (Iran)
- Nuclear Physics (Belarus)
- Nutritional Sciences (Yemen)
- Organic Chemistry (Syria)
- Organic Chemistry (Turkey)
- Pharmacology (Palestine)
- Pharmacy (Afghanistan)
- Pharmacy (Afghanistan)
- Pharmacy (Ethiopia)
- Physics (Afghanistan)
- Physics (Turkey)
- Physics (Turkey)
- Physics (Turkey)
- Physics (Turkey)
- Physics (Turkey)
- Plant Breeding (Ethiopia)
- Toxicology (Afghanistan)
- Veterinary Science (Myanmar)
- Water Engineering (Afghanistan)
- Water & Environmental Research (Afghanistan)
Social Sciences (41)
- African Political Sociology (Cameroon)
- Communication Sciences (Turkey)
- Criminal Justice (Turkey)
- Criminology (Turkey)
- Development Policy (Afghanistan)
- Economics (Afghanistan)
- Economics (Ethiopia)
- Economics (Ethiopia)
- Economics (Syria)
- Economics (Tanzania)
- Economics (Turkey)
- Economics (Turkey)
- Gender Studies (Afghanistan)
- Gender Studies (Afghanistan)
- Gender Studies (Iran)
- Geography (Hong Kong)
- History (Belarus)
- History (Egypt)
- History (Egypt)
- Human Geography (Syria)
- Human Geography (Turkey)
- Human Rights (Egypt)
- International Relations (Myanmar)
- Linguistics (Ukraine)
- Political Archaeology (Iran)
- Political Archaeology (Iran)
- Political Science (Afghanistan)
- Political Science (Afghanistan)
- Political Science (Belarus)
- Political Science (Egypt)
- Political Science (Turkey)
- Political Science (Turkey)
- Psychology (Afghanistan)
- Psychology (Afghanistan)
- Psychology (Afghanistan)
- Public Administration (Turkey)
- Sociology (Colombia)
- Sociology (Turkey)
- Sociology (Turkey)
- Sociology (Turkey)
- Sociology (Turkey)
Anonymous
Scholar Story
Anonymous
SYRIA| My country has been in a state of war for more than ten years now. The upheaval of the war in Syria, has caused me great hardship. Unable to return to my country, I was desperate and in a difficult position. After learning about SAR’s work I applied in the hopes that they could help me as I work to establish myself as a leader in my field.
SAR offered a unique and much-needed opportunity to pursue my academic career by securing a place where I could enhance my skills and build my resume. This has allowed me to work in an educational environment that is more stable, provides a platform for creativity, freedom of speech, and the free flow of ideas. My host university has accommodated me and given me access to facilities that have helped me achieve my goals until the time comes for me to safely return to Syria.
Academics living in a war-torn country face many challenges that can affect their personal and professional life, ranging from life-threatening incidents under repressive regimes to discrimination in the workplace. There are limits to what they can do and say. Also, being in such a situation of insecurity and continuous fear about the future is not easy to manage and has a severe impact on a person’s mental health. Therefore, they need every support available.
While it is difficult to keep working in the midst of such hardships, we need to keep trying and never give up on our dream of a better future for ourselves, our families and our countries. We should always be ready to support others as we know how much it means to have a helping hand in such difficult situations.
“My experience since contacting SAR has been very positive and encouraging. I felt I had the support I very much needed. SAR and its team were never reluctant to help with any inquiry or request. They were very kind and understanding of my academic and personal needs and they were happy to listen to them and ac on my behalf. Without SAR support, none of what I am achieving today would have been possible”
“My work matters because it aims to improve the experience of refugees and immigrants in their host countries. SAR has helped me continue this work by offering different forms of support, not limited to financial support or finding a suitable host institution. SAR has helped make my academic journey smoother and more fruitful. I do not know what the future would have looked like without SAR’s support.”
Scholar Name Goes Here
Advocacy
SAR’s advocacy work increases protection for at-risk scholars by documenting the global phenomenon of attacks on higher education communities and seeking implementation of additional protections for academic freedom.
Free to Think 2022, the annual report of SAR’s Academic Freedom Monitoring Project, documents 391 attacks on university communities in 65 countries. Volunteer monitors throughout SAR’s global network contribute by submitting data and by supporting advocacy around the report. Since 2011, SAR has documented 2,481 incidents involving 3,247 attacks on higher education in 123 countries. SAR-affiliated legal clinics increase monitoring coverage while training students on academic freedom and human rights. Students produce reports on specific incidents involving attacks on higher education and analyze country conditions relating to academic freedom. Over the last seven years,
students in 43 SAR clinics helped prepare academic freedom reports on Bahrain, Belarus, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Hungary, India, Iran, Israel, Thailand, Turkey, and Venezuela for submission to national and international human rights bodies.
Our efforts to nurture increased monitoring, advocacy, and organizing in different regions continue. Exceptional progress has been made this year in the Americas. Our previously established “Americas hub” helped draft and supported the adoption by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) of a new set of Principles of Academic Freedom and Autonomy. The hub has since reconstituted itself as the Coalition for Academic Freedom in the Americas (CAFA), underscoring the unity of present and future partners as a joint enterprise. As CAFA, the group was selected by the IACHR to serve as a member of a
Specialized Academic Network to support and inform the IACHR’s efforts to implement protections for academic freedom in the region. This Specialized Network was established in 2021, with SAR and CAFA partners as inaugural members. The invitation to engage for a second year and maintain our partnership with the IACHR is a significant positive sign for CAFA–and SAR–in the Americas going forward.
UN Universal Periodic Review
The United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is the process by which the human rights records of each of the 193 UN Member States are reviewed by the other Member States, with formal and informal opportunities for input from civil society. SAR routinely participates in the UPR process as part of an effort to establish greater awareness within the international community of the problem of attacks on higher education. This past year, SAR made submissions, including Academic Freedom Monitoring Project data, regarding Brazil, India (in partnership with SAR’s legal clinic at McGill University’s Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism), Indonesia (in partnership with the Indonesian Caucus for Academic Freedom – KIKA), and Pakistan. In August 2022, SAR attended the 41st UPR pre-sessions at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, joined by a colleague from KIKA, who spoke on the pattern of repression targeting outspoken scholars and students in Indonesia.
Students
Students participating in Student Advocacy Seminars play an increasingly important role in SAR’s advocacy work. Seminar students develop research and leadership skills while advocating on behalf of scholars and students identified by SAR’s Scholars in Prison Project.
Over the last eight years, students at 42 institutions in Austria, Bangladesh, Canada, Germany, Ghana, Italy, Kyrgyzstan, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States helped SAR campaign for 20 imprisoned scholars and students from Bahrain, Belarus, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Nicaragua, Saudi Arabia, South Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates. Over that same period, SAR has seen the release or improvement in conditions of detention for the subjects of student advocacy campaigns from Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Nicaragua, Saudi Arabia, and South Sudan.
Seminar participants put their advocacy skills into practice at SAR’s annual Student Advocacy Day events, which took place in Canada, Europe, and the United States. In Canada and Europe, where events were organized by University of British Columbia, Canada, and Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, respectively, students presented their research to peers and civil society, and participated in online workshops on best practices in advocacy. In the United States, 31 students and faculty held in-person 17 meetings with members of U.S. Congress in Washington, DC, regarding wrongfully imprisoned scholars Ahmadreza Djalali, Ahmed Samir Santawy, Ilham Tohti, Marfa Rabkova, Nasser bin Ghaith, Rahile Dawut, and Patrick Zaki. In meetings, the students first shared case history, described SAR’s work, and explained why they, as students, care about these scholars’ well-being. Then, presenting specific recommendations, they asked their representatives to act in support of these scholars, too. In early 2023, Student Advocacy Day sessions tailored to national and regional contexts will take place in person, including in Ottawa, Canada, and in Washington, DC.
An inaugural Student Advocacy Seminar end-of-year report details the research and advocacy work of over 320 students at 16 universities in 8 different countries during the 2021-2022 academic year. Participants raised awareness about 10 Scholars in Prison Project cases, ranging from East Asia to Central Europe to the Middle East. During the year, seminars ran social media campaigns, held public events, and organized meetings with public officials to demand global action.
Scholars in Prison
We continue to advocate and raise awareness about imprisoned scholars and students.
Scholars Released: This past year, SAR welcomed the release from prison of three Scholars in Prison. In December 2021, Patrick George Zaki, a postgraduate student researching Women and Gender Studies at the University of Bologna, Italy, was released from prison in Egypt. He remains in-country, facing charges in apparent retaliation for his peaceful human rights research. In February 2022, electrical engineering scholar Khalil al-Halwachi was released after serving seven years of a ten-year prison sentence in Bahrain. And most recently, Mr. Ahmed Samir Santawy was released in July on a presidential pardon; he had been held for 18 months. Mr. Santawy is a postgraduate student at Central European University, Austria, and studies women’s reproductive rights in Egypt. Many SAR network members and partners, including student advocacy seminars, legal clinics, and sections took part in advocating on Mr. Santawy’s behalf. Our work continues, though; as of this writing, Mr. Santawy remains unable to travel to Austria to continue his studies.
Key Actions
- Global: In November 2021, SAR participated in a Congressional briefing on Imprisoned Writers, Scholars, and Journalists, organized by the US Congress’s Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission. The briefing featured witnesses from PEN America, Reporters Without Borders, and SAR (all partners in the Defending Freedoms Project, housed within the Lantos Commission) and provided an opportunity to urge Members of Congress to act in support of prisoners of conscience. copies of the book to the Embassy and consulates of India to the United States.
- Bahrain: In July, Bahraini scholar Dr. Abduljalil Al-Singace marked one year on hunger strike. Dr. Al-Singace was arrested in 2011 and has since been held in Bahrain’s Jau Prison. He began refusing sustenance to protest his ill-treatment, and to demand the return of confiscated research. Dr. Al-Singace’s health has deteriorated rapidly while on hunger strike, and Bahraini authorities have not provided him with appropriate medical care. We continue to call for Dr. Al-Singace’s immediate release so he can receive the medical care he urgently needs. In August, we joined 14 organizations in calling Bahraini authorities to release Dr. Al-Singace as he reached the 400th day of his hunger strike.
- Belarus: a SAR sent a letter to authorities in Belarus expressing grave concern over the 15 year prison sentence given to Marfa Rabkova and calling for her immediate release. After nearly two years in pretrial detention, on September 6, 2022, the Minsk city court sentenced Ms. Rabkova, a student at European Humanities University in Lithuania, to 15 years in prison on 13 charges for her nonviolent expressive activity and work monitoring nationwide protests calling for Alexander Lukashenko’s resignation.
- China: SAR’s Advocacy Director wrote an afterword for Jewher Ilham’s recently-released book, Because I Have To, about maintaining strength while advocating for her father, wrongfully imprisoned scholar Ilham Tohti.
- Iran: Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali’s case remains of grave concern to the SAR network. In May, the spokesperson for the Iranian judiciary stated that Dr. Djalali would be hanged once the review of his case has been completed. We sent a letter to the United Nations, European Union, and other officials urging them to do everything in their power to halt the imminent execution and secure the immediate release of Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali.
- Egypt: We have taken numerous actions in support of wrongfully imprisoned Egyptian students Ahmed Samir Santawy and Patrick George Zaki. In the fall, following the publication of this letter in support of Mr. Zaki, a University of Bologna postgraduate student, he was released from pretrial detention. On January 25, SAR gave a presentation at the Central European University conference on Ahmed Samir Santawy, a CEU postgraduate student serving a four-year prison sentence in Egypt. We signed a joint statement with over 60 organizations calling on President Abdelfattah Al-Sisi to quash the verdicts against Mr. Santawy and six other human rights defenders. In advance of Mr. Zaki’s trial on February 1, we sent a letter to Egyptian authorities and organized a social media campaign, in coordination with the release of SAR’s Free to Think podcast episode 19, which discusses the cases of both Mr. Zaki and Mr. Santawy.
- Ukraine: iIn March, as part of a SAR-wide effort to support members of the higher education community impacted by the war in Ukraine, Scholars at Risk issued a statement of solidarity, in conjunction with SAR sections and partner networks, with the people of Ukraine and with people around the world, including in Russia, in condemning the ongoing acts of aggression against the Ukrainian people and territory by the agents and armed forces of the Russian Federation. Scholars at Risk signed an open letter, endorsed by nearly 50 NGOs, calling on Member States of the United Nations to take action to suspend the rights of the Russian Federation as a member of the UN Human Rights Council for committing widespread, gross, and systematic violations of international human rights law in Ukraine and in Russia.
Marvi Sirmed
Scholar Story
Marvi Sirmed
PAKISTAN | In my line of work, especially in countries where democracy is weak, and the rule of law is inadequate, journalists often find themselves in dangerous situations. As a journalist focused on human rights, I had to withstand pressure through social media bullying, disinformation campaigns, death & rape threats, unwarranted raids at my house, and even an assassination attempt. I was already in the US for a fellowship with the National Endowment for Democracy when I was accused of blasphemy back home. That was when I decided not to return to a possible lynching in Pakistan. It was not an easy decision. The thought that kept me awake at night was my possible inability to continue my journalistic work. But when SAR placed me in residency with the University of Connecticut, not only did I get an opportunity to share and refine my ideas as an adjunct professor, but I also was able to continue writing and researching.
During the NED fellowship, I learned about SAR, but I never knew that SAR also had a Practitioners at Risk track. This program allowed me to keep myself alive, not just physically but in spirit too. When I got this residency, I began working on my book, documenting the cases of brazen censorship and media manipulation in South Asian countries, focusing on Pakistan and India. My host institution, the University of Connecticut, welcomed me with open arms and extended a helping hand in every aspect of my job and even in my personal life. The transition from working as an activist and a journalist in Pakistan to working in US academia felt complicated until I met colleagues at UConn, who made it a point to be there whenever I needed guidance, advice, or just a friendly chat that made me feel I belonged and my work was valued. At UConn, I also had the opportunity to get to know other academics doing excellent work.
SAR also connected me to the New University in Exile Consortium, which is a great platform for the community of academics in exile. I would not have been able to continue my writing had I not discovered SAR’s practitioner track. So my advice to the scholars and practitioners already in residency would be to remain active in the network and offer mentorship to other scholars who are at risk. If you feel you cannot continue your scholarly or professional work as a practitioner due to the threats you face, you must explore how SAR can help you.
Scholar Name Goes Here
Research & Learning
SAR’s research and learning work aims to increase security for scholars and universities by strengthening collective understanding of academic freedom and related higher education values among states, higher education communities, and the public.
This year SAR brought together its first cohort of academic freedom fellows, through the Mellon Foundation supported Mellon/SAR Academic Freedom Fellowship. The fellowship program provides a research stipend and supportive professional community for researchers to develop and share related work on academic freedom and/or related higher education values leading to a publishable article; new course offering; workshop, webinar, or conference presentation; or other identified end product. The 2021-2022 fellowship supported projects investigating the relationship between academic freedom and the national STEM research production; academic freedom amid extreme violence in Colombia and Brazil; grassroots resistance movements to academic freedom violations in Russia; teaching LGBTQ rights in faith-based universities in Kenya; and a comparative analysis of legal frameworks related to academic freedom in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
SAR continued to disseminate and promote its publications. Promoting Higher Education Values: A Guide for Discussion explores the meaning of academic freedom, why it matters, and how to respond when it is threatened. Promoting Higher Education Values: Workshop Supplement offers exercises and advice for self-study by individuals or groups.
Building on these publications, SAR and partners at the University of Oslo co-created an online course on academic freedom called Dangerous Questions: Why Academic Freedom Matters. The course has now engaged more than 5,600 participants from 142+ countries–adding among its moderated runs a private session for students across SAR’s Student Advocacy Seminars–reflecting the international demand for and curricular value of information about academic freedom.
Anonymous
Scholar Story
Anonymous
ETHIOPIA | As a professor of law, I discussed the topic of human rights abuses and breaches of the laws of war in Tigray, a state in northern Ethiopia, during lectures of my December 2020 International Human Rights Law class. The discussions centered on claims of human rights breaches, including the targeting of civilians (murders, imprisonment), and the racial profiling of Tigrayans, which was also being covered by international news sources and human rights groups as a high profile topic at the time. The University administration accused me of acting against the federal government’s actions in Tigray and sympathizing with the regional authority. Consequently, I was warned to stop referring to the situation in Tigray. This had the unintended consequence of self-censoring my lectures in subsequent classes. After I completed teaching the human rights course, I was not given any more teaching responsibilities for the semester that followed. As long as I was under monitoring and severe pressure, it was evident that I would not be able to continue teaching, and was gradually being removed from my academic position. Consequently, I was compelled to leave my position in February 2021. I then joined a think tank, where the harassment persisted. Unable to pursue my academic career, I fled the country and finished my postdoctoral research at an American university. Due to my risk of persecution, it was unsafe for me to return to Ethiopia. With the help of SAR, I was able to obtain a position at a university in the United States, where I continue to publish, and speak often at conferences and public events on human rights, the rule of law, and African studies. My research focuses on the increasing importance of, and threat to, supranational institutions including human right mechanisms and international courts. I will never forget the day I received the news from SAR that the university where I worked as a postdoc had agreed to host me. I am thankful and appreciative for the persistent effort that SAR made to help me. The constant hard work of SAR to help is not ordinary to find. Because of SAR, I am able to continue my research.
“I will never forget the day I received the news from SAR that the university…had agreed to host me. I am thankful and appreciative for the persistent effort that SAR made to help me.”
SAR Europe
SAR Europe promotes SAR’s mission in Europe, seeking to strengthen European policymaking on academic freedom and improve support for at-risk scholars in all parts of Europe.
In 2021-22, SAR Europe organized regular convenings of the European Coordinating Committee for Academic Freedom Advocacy to share expertise across countries and institutions. The Committee grew to include experts with organizational bases in 18 European countries, and representatives from 4 organizations with Europe-wide membership. With input from committee members, SAR Europe contributed policy briefings to the Council of Europe, the European Parliament, and the European Commission, and provided presentations to policymakers with a view to informing Europe’s legal and policy norms as they relate to academic freedom. These included responses to the European Commission consultations on the 2022 Rule of Law Report, a briefing to the EU Special Representative for Human Rights, a briefing to the Science Advisors of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of EU member States and other important opportunities.
Inspireurope Philipp Schwartz Initiative Forum, May 2022, Berlin. Photo ©David Ausserhofer/Humboldt Foundation
In January 2022, the EU-funded Inspireurope initiative, led by SAR Europe, contributed to the development of Guidelines for the inclusion of researchers at risk. The Guidelines were published by the European Commission’s Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions with the goal of widening access for researchers at risk to EU fellowship schemes. In April 2022, Inspireurope published Inspireurope Recommendations: Expanding Opportunities in Europe for Researchers at Risk, a policy report with eight concrete recommendations for institutional, national and European actors. The report was launched at the Inspireurope-Philipp Schwartz Initiative forum held in Berlin in May 2022.
SAR Europe, together with Inspireurope partners, continued to advocate for an EU fellowship scheme for researchers at risk and to support SAR sections in Europe in efforts to develop national support schemes in their countries. While efforts towards a general EU-wide scheme for researchers at risk are ongoing, in July 2022 SAR Europe at Maynooth University, together with the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the European University Association entered into an agreement with the European Commission to build and implement MSCA4Ukraine, a 25 million euro EU funded scheme supporting displaced researchers from Ukraine. The scheme will be launched in September 2022.
Anonymous
Scholar Story
Anonymous
AFGHANISTAN | I worked as a university professor in Kabul, Afghanistan for eight years. I was the dean of my department, and enjoyed working in an academic environment with the hardworking students of my country. Seeing my past students as graduate and doctoral students in the best universities in the world, and as high- ranking government and non-government employees, strongly motivated me to stay in my country and do my duty. With all my heart, I devoted myself to the education of students whom I thought would play a very important role in the future of Afghanistan. In addition to facilitating knowledge production, I always tried to foster an environment that promoted insightfulness and awareness about the issues the country was facing. Open discussions were always a part of my classes and I had no qualms about talking about political issues and challenging the beliefs (religious and non-religious) of my students. Many times I was threatened by some of my students to not raise such discussions in my classes. But since I saw the great interest of most of the students in these issues, I did not take these threats very seriously.
But after some university professors were killed in Kabul and other provinces of Afghanistan in suicide and terrorist attacks, my concerns intensified. I felt extremely threatened when the Taliban came to power in August 2021. Then, my wife received an official threat letter from the Taliban due to her work with government and international projects, and was forced to resign from her job. When the Taliban entered Kabul, they threatened to harm me and my family and we could not leave the house for many days. At the end of August 2021, in the middle of the night, we left our house and all of our possessions and were evacuated to Europe. I am currently working as a visiting scholar at a university in Canada, and I would like to thank the great teams of SAR and IIE-SRF that helped me.
Currently, freedom of expression has been completely destroyed in Afghanistan and university professors experience many restrictions. The smallest protests are severely suppressed and many of my colleagues (especially those from religious and ethnic minorities) have lost their jobs.
By saving the lives of academics, scientists, and university professors, SAR helps them to reach their great goal of spreading science, awareness, and insight to their communities. I think that such an activity is right against the terrorist and dictatorial regimes in many countries of the world.
Hazel Baskoy
Supporters
SAR is grateful for the generosity of our supporters with special thanks to the Office of the Provost of New York University for hosting our network headquarters and the National University of Ireland, Maynooth for hosting SAR Europe.
We give thanks to the many colleagues and partners around the world who have gone out of their way to help threatened and refugee scholars, especially those who have helped arrange visits, host events, mentor scholars, or have otherwise provided assistance or advice.
- Charina Endowment Fund
- Charles Koch Foundation
- Freedom House
- The Henry Luce Foundation
- Jan Krukowski
- The Mellon Foundation
- National Endowment for Democracy (NED)
- Open Society Foundations
- Mariko Silver
- Vivian G. Prins Foundation
- The Winston Foundation
CHAMPIONS, $10,000+
- Benevity Community Impact Fund
- Fritt Ord Foundation
- Jonathan F. Fanton
- Leon Levy Foundation
- Microsoft Corporation
- The Neubauer Collegium at the University of Chicago
- Matthew Nimetz
- Rosalie J. Wolf
DEFENDERS, $5,000+
- Lisa Anderson
- Anonymous
- Nancy Gallagher
- Hanna H. Gray
- Jenny Holzer
- Rachel Kohler
- Joel Lebowitz
- Stensbygaard Foundation
- Robert and Barbara Quinn Family Foundation
ADVOCATES, $1,000+
- Kathryn H. Anderson
- Anonymous (2)
- Jonathan Cole
- Ariel & Angelica Dorfman
- Jonathan Dwight Culler
- Leonard Engel
- Irving Epstein
- Joel Forman
- Markus Friedrich
- Alison T. Gray
- Michael Hirschhorn
- Shadia Kuoni
- Robert Quinn
- Joel Lebowitz
- Lance & Carol Liebman
- Martha Loerke
- Barbara McElroy
- Gilbert W. Merkx
- Maura Monaghan & Chris Morris
- Hugh R. Muller
- Network For Good
- Richard Raisler
- Judith R. Shapiro
- Catharine R. Stimpson
- Alison von Klemperer
SUPPORTERS, $500+
- Anonyomus (2)
- Ali Arab
- Alan & Susan Becker
- Jay M. Bernstein
- Mary Virginia Burrus
- Jonathan Coopersmith
- Robert Haines
- Michele Irwin
- Robin Jacobowitz & Mike Sweeney
- Thomas Keenan
- Peter Mayer
- Anne McCall
- Brent Smith
- Margaret Vitullo
- Stephen White
BENEFACTORS, Up to $499
- Anonymous
- Shemeem Abbas
- Susan Albertine
- Mhd Rabih Almerestani
- Amazon
- Amy Anderson
- Tim Athan
- Lynne Azarchi
- Alfred Babo
- Lotte Bailyn
- Sandra Barkan
- Doris Bittar
- Gerardo Blanco
- Tommi Brander
- Solfrid Bratland-Sanda
- Teresa Braun
- Melanie Brazil
- Sophia Carvalho
- Audrey Chapman
- Indrani Chatterjee
- Mehdi Cherif
- Rose Cherubin
- Christina Chou
- Martin Christensen
- Brett Cloyd
- Heather Collins
- Kathleen Comerford
- Michael Conway
- Burak Copur
- Garrison Cottrell
- Kenneth & Suzanne Craig
- Suzanne Crowley
- Diane Dallis-Comentale
- Heleen de Coninck
- Marijke Delemarre
- Stanley Deser
- Brydon Diana
- Veronica Dike
- Melissa Doric
- Sarah Drew
- Daniel Drezner
- Elizabeth Driebe
- Afonso Duque-Portugal
- Margaret Echelbarger
- Nathan Eckstrand
- EFMD Global
- Elena Einstein
- Carl Ernst
- Joseph Fahey
- Roland Faller
- C. Feik
- Håkan Fischer
- Shepard Forman
- James Fraser
- Sven Erik Frykholm
- Bethany Gallant
- Rosanna Garcia
- Steffen Geiger
- Jackie Gerow
- Robert Godwin
- Robert Gosende
- Michel Grandjean
- Jacques Grele
- Clare Griffin
- Malachi Hacohen
- Zakiyatou Oualet Halatine
- Benjamin Hale
- Paul Hamill
- Henry Heaphy
- Charles Henry
- Joy Herr-Cardillo
- Robert Hewitt
- Robert Heyer
- Emily M. Hill
- Alba Hipolito-Almaguer
- Carla Houben
- Hanadi Ibrahim
- David Inouye
- Rika Ito
- Pierre Jacob
- Abdul Sattar Jawad
- Jönköping University
- Jean-Marie Kamatali
- Katherine King
- Karen-Lise S. Knudsen
- Claudia Kours
- Jillian Kovach
- Jin Lee
- Bjoern Lehnert
- Amod Lele
- David Lewis
- Roy Licklider
- Kathleen Lynch
- Alex Madonik
- Erin Maher
- Carol Mandel
- Mark David Mandel
- Douglas Markham
- Stephen Marks
- Joseph Martin
- Michele Mattingly
- Victor Matveev
- Lanell Mauzey
- Brandon McLeod
- Claudia Mellenthin
- Olivier Morin
- Alison Mountz
- Srikantan Nagarajan
- Catharine & David Newbury
- Arlene Noll
- Lucy O’Brien
- Eric Patel
- Maxim Poliashenko
- Grigore Pop-Eleches
- Jasmine Precious
- Leo Quigley
- Shyam Ranganathan
- Ann Marie Rasmussen
- Lisa Reindorf
- Clare Farne Robinson
- Donald F. Ross, Jr.
- Shaghayegh Safarzadeh
- Anna-Lena Scholz
- Robert Scott
- Julie Sell
- Abdul Sattar Jawad Shakhly
- Jean & Jim Silk
- Sherry Simon
- Jeanine Skorinko
- Mark Slobin
- Maria Slowey
- Richard Smith
- Theron Snell
- Margaret Snowden
- Sarah Sokhey
- Jeffrey Sorensen
- Winifred Tan
- John Tanner, Jr.
- Nayereh Tohidi
- Gary Tomlinson
- Brian Turner
- The UK Online Giving Foundation
- Bonnie Urciuoli
- Olga Urena
- Patrick Wall
- Antoinette Charon Wauters
- Robert Westman
- Anna Wetterbom
- Sara Wilbur
- Frances Wilden
- Sarah Willcox
- Geoffrey Williams
- Herman Winick
- Christina Witsberger
- Mark Wojcik
- Thomas Zipp
- European Union
- Bosch Foundation
- Open Society Foundations
SAR EUROPE
List from Sept. 2020–Sept. 2021
Hazel Baskoy
SAR Financials
Sources of Support
FY 2022 Summary
People
Board
Lisa Anderson, Chair
Naila Al Atrash
Alfred Babo
Jonathan R. Cole
Irving Epstein
Jonathan F. Fanton
Robert J. Jones
Thomas Keenan
Jan Krukowski
Lance Liebman
Gilbert W. Merkx
Matthew Nimetz
Judith Shapiro
Mariko Silver
Catharine Stimpson
Rosalie Wolf
Ambassadors Council
Lloyd Axworthy, Chair
Kwame Anthony Appiah
Louise Arbour
Ian Buruma
Robbert Dijkgraaf
Ariel Dorfman
Shirin Ebadi
Richard Goldstone
Azar Nafisi
Sigrid Rausing
International Advisory Committee
Karolina Catoni,
SAR Sweden
Laura Colo,
Network of Universities from the Capitals of Europe (UNICA)
Viviana Fernandez,
SAR Canada
Ester Gallo,
SAR Italy
Karen-Lise Knudsen,
SAR Norway
Vivian Tos Lindgaard,
SAR Denmark
David John Lock,
Magna Charta Universitatum Observatory
Sean Manley-Casimir,
Consortium for North American Higher Education Collaboration (CONAHEC)
Anne McCall,
SAR United States
Elina Vuola & Markus Laitinen,
SAR Finland
Koen Verlaeckt,
SAR Flanders
Stefan Rummel, & Frank Albrecht,
SAR Germany
Alexandros Triantafyllidis,
SAR Greece
Henriette Stöber,
European University
Association (EUA)
Iris Kimizoglu,
SAR European Students’ Union
Rowena Pecchenino,
SAR Ireland
Roger Pfister,
SAR Switzerland
Julia Wojnowska-Radzińska,
Compostela Group of Universities (CGU)
Stephen Wordsworth,
Council for At-Risk Academics
Tami Harriott,
SAR Australia
Michal Vasecka & Ingrid Borarosva,
SAR Slovakia
Staff
United States
Robert Quinn,
Executive Director
Sarah Willcox,
Deputy Director
Phoebe Alpern
Miriam Alphonsus
Ayodele Abinusawa
Rose Anderson
Alex Bell
Leona Binz
Madochée Bozier
Chelsea Blackburn Cohen
Quinn Coleman
Christopher Conlan
Madeline Everett
Skylar Gleason
Fiona Hull
Juliet Kelso
Jesse Levine
Starr Miller
Emily Moore
Daniel Munier
Sanan Panossian
Prachi Patel
Joyce Pisarello
Clare Robinson
Sarina Rosenthal
Rachel Rostad
Leah Shapiro
Patrick Wall
Europe
Sinead O’Gorman,
Europe Director
Jibran Alsaied
Joel Hanisek
Denise Roche
List from Sept. 2021–Sept. 2022

The image above is a graphic recording created by Tiaré Jung during Dr. Saladdin Amhed’s presentation, “A Dialogue on Space and Inclusion in Higher Education” at the Centre for Comparative Muslim Studies as part of the SAR/Vivian G. Prins Speaker Series.
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