Iran: Campaign to free jailed student photographer

More than 70 Iranian graduates have launched a campaign calling for the release of their friend and colleague, student photographer Hamed Saber, Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty reported last month. Saber was arrested on 21 June and there had been no communication regarding his whereabouts.

It is thought his arrest was in reaction to photographs he took of protests following the disputed presidential election last year. His photos, posted on the photo-sharing websites Flickr and Picassa under his own name, were reportedly published in foreign media, including the front page of the German magazine Der Spiegel.

Saber was a prolific photographer, and had also designed software that enabled users to bypass the filters that countries such as Iran, United Arab Emirates, China and others have placed on Flickr.

He also posted online photos of currently imprisoned Oxford student Mohammed Jalaeipour, as well as several hundreds of Iranian protestors.

In a statement posted on www.freehamedsaber.blogspot.com, a group of his university class mates and professors say that Saber chose not to emigrate despite having the opportunity because he wished to work towards Iran's freedom.

They called on officials to "respect each other's ideas and create such conditions where all people, particularly experts, can freely play a role in the country's progress". They called for Saber to be given a fair trial.

Iran: Prominent scholar sentenced to prison

Emadeddin Baghi, a prominent Iranian scholar, journalist and human rights activist, has been sentenced to one year in prison and banned from political activity for five years, following a two-year trial for forming an organisation to defend prisoners' rights, Reporters without Borders reported on 26 July.

Baghi was arrested at his home in December 2009, the day after major protests in Tehran and other cities during a Shiite religious festival. He was detained without charge and held in solitary confinement in Evin Prison, and was denied access to medical care, legal representation and family. He was released on bail last month after 180 days in prison.

Baghi is awaiting a second trial brought by the intelligence ministry relating to accusations surrounding his appearance in an interview carried out by BBC Persia with a now-deceased government critic and senior cleric.

He was awarded the French Republic's Human Rights Prize in 2005 for his campaign to abolish the death penalty in Iran, and was the 2009 recipient of the Martin Ennals Award for human rights activists

Syria: Veil ban in universities

Syria's Education Minister, Ghiyath Barakat, has announced that full-face veils will be banned in Syrian Universities, saying that "the practice runs counter to the academic values and traditions of Syrian universities", BBC News reported on the 19 July. His ruling was published on the All4Syria website and is alleged to be in response to requests from parents and students.

A number of academics have spoken out in support of the ban in Syrian universities, as a reinforcement of Syria's secular identity in an increasingly religious region. In an interview with the BBC Kinda al-Shammat, a law professor and women's rights activist in Damascus, argued that the ban was in line with the Syrian belief in moderation.

Others academics however, have argued that it may lead to a decrease in female student numbers at Syrian universities.

The ruling came just after France's lower house of parliament overwhelmingly voted in favour of banning the full-face veil in public, showing the politicisation of the various forms of Islamic veil across the globe.

In 2009, Egypt's foremost Muslim cleric, Sheikh Mohammed Sayed Tantawi, sparked controversy by banning female students from wearing the full-face veil at al-Azhar University.

In June, Syria moved hundreds of school teachers who wore the full-face veil to administrative positions. Al Arabiya reported that such moves were widely seen as a response to the growing popularity of radical Islam, and were described by a ministry official as attempts to combat "subversive thought" in Syrian youth.

INDIA: Academics discuss safeguards for academic freedom

Members of Mumbai University's teaching staff have met to discuss the formation of an independent body to safeguard academic freedom within the university, DNA News reported on 27 July.

Members met to highlight instances at the university, where there has been political interference - including the current credit-based system, the appointment of the vice-chancellor and the expulsion of staff on government instruction - and to discuss suitable methods of response.

Faculty members agreed that teachers associations and unions must be encouraged to take up such instances of government influence.

"We will create a body or a platform that will have university academicians, teachers and citizens who can work towards preserving the university's academic independence," Neeraj Hatekar, a member of the University of Mumbai Academic Staff Association (Umasa) said.

The credit system is seen by many Indian academics as a top-down approach from government, which was introduced without consultation and will disproportionately affect poorer students. The selection process for the position vice-chancellor has also been widely criticised, as there are no fixed norms for selection or for eligibility for members of the selection committee.

It is claimed that the Education Secretary has significant powers in the selection process, drafting recruitment rules for both candidates and search committee members, while also sitting on the search committee himself.


Palestine: Six academics and one student arrested

Six faculty members and one student of An-Najah University, in Nablus, have been arrested by the Palestinian Security forces for suspected links to Hamas, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported on the 4th August. The arrests occurred late on the 2 August, and were carried out by the Preventative Security Service.

Five other people were also arrested, and nine women were summoned and had their identification cars confiscated, in a campaign that targeted members of the al-Tadamon Society, which has been registered as a charity but is suspected of being a front for Hamas.

Among those arrested is Ghassan Khaled, a law professor and human rights activist who was previously detained and held without trial for 20 months. Khaled, whose prior case was taken up by Amnesty, has previously told The Chronicle that he was against violence.

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights released a press statement in which it condemned "the continued arbitrary arrests and illegal detentions of members of Hamas by Palestinian security services in the West Bank, as these arrests and detentions are in violation of law" and highlighted the ruling of the "Palestinian Supreme Court of Justice on 20 February 1999, which considers political detention illegal and demands all executive bodies respect the Court ruling and cease the practice of political detention".

Tajikstan: Private university sues education minister

The Institute of Technical Innovations and Communications, the only private university in Tajikstan, is suing the Tajik Education Minister for defamation, Radio Free Europe reported on 5 August.

Sadriddin Akramov, the head of the Institute of Technical Innovations and Communications (ITIC), claims that Rahmonov described the ITIC in a letter to Tajik President Emomali Rahmon as "a hotbed of antigovernment propaganda and political opposition". Akramov is demanding compensation for the ITIC for moral and material damage resulting from a recent Economic Court ruling that could mean the future closure of the university.

The ITIC was founded in 2003 by a Tajik-born US citizen and is funded by grants from the USA and other Western countries. In 2009, the education authorities ordered the closure of the ITIC, citing unspecified "technical reasons".

Akramov alleges that the reason license was revoked is that the ITIC employs many prominent opposition politicians and outspoken government critics among its professors. He appealed to the district court last year and the university remained open pending court ruling.

At a press conference last month, Rahmonov stated that the ministry's complaints about the ITIC had been upheld by the Economic Court, and the Institute should be closed and its students move to alternative universities.

* Roisin Joyce is Deputy Director of the Network for Education and Academic Rights, NEAR.