Chinese intellectual and dissident Liu Xiaobo was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment on 25 December for his part in drafting and signing the 'Charter 08' document, which calls for significant reforms to the Chinese political system.

International PEN says the sentence was passed at the Beijing First Intermediate People's Court on Christmas Day, in a cynical move by the Chinese authorities to reduce international press coverage of the event. Foreign diplomats were prevented from entering the court and Liu's defence lawyers were prohibited from discussing the proceedings.

Liu, a former professor at Beijing Normal University, was arrested on 8 December 2008, two days before the charter was published online. It was originally signed by more than 300 academics, journalists and activists but has since attracted the support of 10,000 Chinese citizens, including reportedly some mid-level party officials.

Sources: International PEN, Guardian, Christian Science Monitor, NY Review of Books

UK: Working Group to consider campus extremism

A working group of British vice-chancellors is considering how to prevent extremism on campus while protecting academic freedom, according to BBC News. The group has been set up in the wake of the failed bombing on Christmas Day of a US-bound airliner by former University College London student Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.

The working group is to be headed by UCL provost Malcolm Grant, who rejected claims Abdulmutallab was radicalised while studying at the university. The group will consider whether universities should provide a platform for outside speakers whose views may be considered provocative or controversial and to what extent such events and meetings of students should be monitored.

BBC News states the increased scrutiny will have an effect on academics researching extremism, especially those accessing extremist websites for their research.

Abdulmutallab studied engineering and business finance at UCL between 2005 and 2008. The son of a prominent Nigerian banker, it is believed he broke off contact with his family after graduation and became increasingly radical after taking a number of trips to Yemen.

INDIA: Students prevented from attending convention

Police have prevented students from attending a convention at Osmania University in Hyderabad to mark the successful campaign for the establishment of the breakaway state of Telangana, DNA India reports. Organisers had previously been granted permission for the meeting, on the proviso that students refrained from making 'provocative speeches' and did not expand their activities outside of the campus limits.

But city police refused to acknowledge the students' right to gather and built roadblocks to prevent them attending the convention. The Indian government granted the establishment of Telangana State after a gruelling campaign by the Telugu minority, which has seen their leader go on prolonged hunger strike and other campaigners commit suicide in protest.

The Daily Telegraph reported that lower-caste Telugu-speakers make up 80% of the population of what is currently Andhra Pradesh state but have been largely overlooked in the allocation of resources. The new Telangana state will be carved out of Andhra Pradesh's existing territory, a controversial move some claim will destabilise the economy and deter new investment.

CAMEROON: Reversal of academic brain drain

Cameroon is reversing its scientific brain drain by boosting the salaries of university academics, Science and Development Network reports. A government fund of almost US$9.5 million created in 2009 has increased the number of scientists and stabilised the research environment.

New allowances are reportedly paid quarterly to more than 2,500 lecturers and researchers - up from 1,800 at the start of 2009 - which suggests that academics are returning to their campuses. Science and Development Network says the fund was made possible after two major foreign debts were written off and Cameroon decided to put this money into the health, engineering and education sectors.

US: Lecturer denied First Amendment protection

Inside Higher Ed reports that a district court has ruled against a tenured professor at Idaho State University who claimed his dismissal for criticising the university's administration was a breach of his First Amendment rights.

Habib Sadid was told by the district court judge that his status as a state employee meant his case was comparable to other instances where public institutions have legally restricted the right of their employees to make certain public statements.

In particular, the judge cited the Supreme Court's decision in Garcetti vs. Cabalos which ruled that public employees are not always protected by the First Amendment when making statements related to their jobs.

The ruling has sparked concern among the wider American academic community that staff at public colleges and universities are not appropriately protected by the First Amendment.

Source: Inside Higher Ed

ISRAEL-PALESTINE: Academic rights violated

The academic freedom and professional rights of higher education teaching staff in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza are increasingly under assault as a result of the continuing political conflict in the region, according to a report released by Education International and the Canadian Association of University Teachers.

The study, The Status of Higher Education Teaching Personnel in Israel the West Bank and Gaza, found that proposed changes to the governance of Israeli universities threatened institutional autonomy and academic freedom. In the Palestinian territories, limits imposed on freedom of movement made it difficult for Palestinian academics and students to attend conferences or study abroad. Many academics face arbitrary arrest and detention by both Israeli and Palestinian authorities.

The report argues the restrictions on academic freedom are undermining democratic development of the West Bank and Gaza and are frustrating the peace process.

Source: Education International

CHINA: Chinese research reveals 'ghost-written' papers

Research by Wuhan University in China has uncovered a thriving trade in ghost-written academic papers, worth around £63 million (US$102.5 million) a year, BBC News said. The report states that some postgraduate students are earning a living producing papers for others, and that despite the sacking of two lecturers in late December for producing 70 false papers, the practice is widespread.

BBC News reports that China is second only to the United States for the number of academic papers published annually.

* Daniel Sawney and Jonathan Travis work for the Network for Education and Academic Rights (NEAR) www.nearinternational.org


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