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: June 19, 2024

Attack Types: Other

Institution(s):National University of Córdoba

Region & Country:Americas | Colombia

New or Ongoing:New Incident

On June 19, 2024, a group of unidentified hooded individuals stormed the University of Córdoba and vandalized several building facades to protest the results of recent student elections.

According to a university statement, the group caused damage to several campus buildings, including the library, an administrative building, the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, and the Systems Office, and detonated explosive devices. The individuals burned the Systems Office doors and the systems control unit.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about violent and destructive attacks on campus, apparently intended to prevent the functioning of a higher education institution. In addition to the harm to the immediate victims, such actions undermine academic freedom and democratic society generally.

Sources:
*SAR identified this incident in data made publicly available by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED)
https://caracol.com.co/2024/06/20/grupo-de-personas-encapuchadas-vandalizaron-el-campus-de-la-universidad-de-cordoba/
https://www.wradio.com.co/2024/06/20/directivas-de-la-universidad-de-cordoba-rechazan-actos-de-vandalismo-en-la-institucion/