SAR’s Academic Freedom Monitoring Project investigates and reports attacks on higher education with the aim of raising awareness, generating advocacy, and increasing protection for scholars, students, and academic communities. Starting July 1, 2026, SAR no longer publishes reports for the incidents that it records. SAR continues to monitor and record incidents that will be used in the annual Free to Think report. This page provides a record of incidents reported up to that date. Learn more about the Academic Freedom Monitoring Project.

Date of Incident: April 09, 2024

Attack Types: Other

Institution(s):University of Groningen

Region & Country:Europe | Netherlands

New or Ongoing:New Incident

On June 9, 2024, unknown individuals painted the facades of several University of Groningen buildings with graffiti and broke several windows.

The affected buildings included the Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences and an administration building. Both were painted with slogans, including “free Palestine.” Some of the administration building’s windows were smashed.

Scholars at Risk is concerned with the intentional vandalization of a university building. Such acts erode the right to education, and diminish everyone’s access to a safe, free and open university space. State and de facto authorities should take all reasonable measures to prevent and respond to such incidents, including ensuring campus security and conducting prompt and thorough investigations, as appropriate.

Sources:
*SAR identified this incident in data made publicly available by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED)
https://northerntimes.nl/rug-buildings-defaced-again-with-pro-palestine-slogans/
https://twitter.com/univgroningen/status/1800121407382462493
https://twitter.com/CampusFryslan/status/1800464015581454839