This week marks four years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of #Ukraine. Read Dr. Tetiana Hranchak's reflection from February 2025 on the impact of the war on her academic work, Ukrainian national memory, and the critical need for media literacy. https://ow.ly/1C3l50V32ML#Ukraine

Thank you to MCI | The Entrepreneurial School staff and rector Andreas Altmann for hosting European #SARAdvocacyDays in honor of the #SAR25 Anniversary year! As a SAR Network member, MCI’s work is integral to fostering the next generation of #academicfreedom advocates.

#MSCA4Ukraine: Research, resilience and solidarity - four years on 🇺🇦 On the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the MSCA4Ukraine scheme expresses its unwavering solidarity with Ukraine’s research community. Read more via the links in the comment.

After years of crackdowns, the #Venezuelan student movement is experiencing a revival. ElNacionalWeb.bsky.social reports on how students see the country’s moment of political uncertainty as an opportunity to “return to the front lines to defend #democracy”: www.elnacional.com/2026/02/el-m...

Thank you to the Newport Art Museum for inviting SAR Executive Director Robert Quinn to join their ongoing Winter Speaker Series! Watch "Because life is not a yes/no question: Why academic freedom matters to everyone:” https://ow.ly/lg1I50YhhGm

Citing “increasingly severe pressures,” the Hong Kong Federation of Students—once central to #HongKong’s pro-democracy movements—disbanded this past week, underscoring the eroding space for student activism and #academicfreedom in the region. www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-as...

As of Feb. 8, assistant prof. Mostafa Mehareen of the Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies, has begun serving 8 yrs in prison for openly calling on #Iran’s leader Ali Khamenei to resign in June 2025. www.radiofarda.com/a/33671293.h...

On Feb. 10, #wrongfullyimprisoned PhD student Bahruz Samadov in #Azerbaijan ended his hunger strike after finally being able to call his grandmother. While this is welcome news, the intl community must keep calling to #FreeBahruz and ensure his safety. https://www.eng.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/72715

SAR’s February 2026 newsletter is out now! See the latest from the SAR network, including an invitation to a webinar on March 5th to hear directly from SAR staff and scholars on supporting threatened scholars. https://ow.ly/sHfX50YcxSk

Scholars at Risk is one of 37 organizations writing to the Board of Regents of Texas A&M University today to request that they rescind policies that have resulted in censorship of course content. Read and sign: www.scholarsatrisk.org/2026/02/lett...

"‘The Mobile Rings in the Pockets of the Dead: Parents Calling Their Children’ Political Violence amid Declining Legitimacy: Patterns of State Repression.” A piece by Dr. Sabet Sarvestany, a SAR-assisted scholar of women and gender studies from #Iran: https://ow.ly/tfzW50YbO0U#Iran

🚨 Today, shortly after a court in #Azerbaijan rejected his attempt to appeal a transfer to a maximum security prison, #wrongfullyimprisoned PhD student Bahruz Samadov announced he would go on an indefinite hunger strike. oc-media.org/samadov-lose...

In the following letter, PhD student Bahruz Samadov expresses fear for his life while #wrongfullyimprisoned in #Azerbaijan and writes powerfully on the need for international solidarity to help secure his freedom. Read his words now: oc-media.org/the-state-pl...

To mark #SAR25, University of Klagenfurt convened a panel of researchers and practitioners to discuss "how universities can support researchers when public engagement becomes not only critical, but at times, openly hostile". Learn more: https://ow.ly/bttT50Y8Ohx Thank you, Universität Klagenfurt!

Support Scholars at Risk by telling Wiley Online Library about publishing your first research article. Wiley will contribute $50 to SAR for each submission, helping SAR protect scholars and promote academic freedom. SAR thanks Wiley for their generosity. https://ow.ly/uG3h50XFWBp

SAR Europe will now be posting on Bluesky! Follow us, and @scholarsatrisk.bsky.social, to join the movement!

SAR and Amnesty International announce a new, free 90-min online mini-course on academic freedom, what it is, and why it matters to everyone. Sign up and help us spread the word: https://ow.ly/3i2V50Y3Mer

HRREC, SAR uOttawa Program, and the SAR Canada Section invite you to a public webinar marking the 25th anniversary of the Scholars at Risk Network. UN & global standards on academic freedom Monday, February 2, 2026 12:00–1:00 PM (EST) Zoom | Free & open to all https://ow.ly/inKJ50Y4o93

"In America today, the freedom to speak, teach, and learn without fear of retribution is under attack." New report from @sanders.senate.gov on attacks on #US colleges & unis is an urgent call to protect #academicfreedom and #democracy. sanders.senate.gov/wp-content/u...

📢 New resource! What happens when certain questions feel too risky to ask? Today, on #InternationalDayofEducation, SAR & Amnesty International launch a free, online 90-min course: “Dangerous” Questions: Why Academic Freedom Matters.” Sign up and help us spread the word: https://ow.ly/gaK050Y25sq#InternationalDayofEducation

The scale of university shutdowns & violence against protesters—incl. students—in #Iran appears unprecedented, even by Iran’s long history of repressing student movements. Universities are under siege and students’ lives are being lost. This must end now.

Join @uOttawaHRREC, the @ScholarsatRisk #uOttawa Program and the SAR Canada Section for a webinar to celebrate SAR's 25th Anniversary! International Tools to Advance Academic Freedom Monday, January 26, 2026 12:00–1:00 PM (EST) - Zoom https://ow.ly/b4iq50Y0LHk

Meet the 2025-2026 Mellon/SAR Academic Freedom Fellows! With support from the Mellon Foundation this diverse cohort of scholars will advance projects on #academicfreedom and join a global research community. Read more: https://www.scholarsatrisk.org/the-network-archived/mellon-sar/

SAR's January 2026 newsletter, available now! See key news updates, opportunities, and resources from across the SAR network this month. Read and subscribe: https://ow.ly/I8cr50XWpNT

Researchers are being targeted in many countries around the world. In some cases, both they and their families face death threats and are forced into hiding. Through the organisation @scholarsatrisk.bsky.social LiU is helping to protect some of these researchers. liu.se/en/news-item... #AcademicSky

Thank you to our partners at the Université Grenoble Alpes, who conducted two thoughtful interviews with scholars as part of SAR's 25th anniversary celebration. #SAR25 Read them here: international.univ-grenoble-alpes.fr/news/headlin... international.univ-grenoble-alpes.fr/news/headlin...

In SAR's December newsletter, we bring you a note of gratitude from SAR Executive Director Rob Quinn: "These achievements, which would not have been possible without you, are a testament to the movement we have built together." Read and subscribe: ow.ly/kt2650XGuvS

In #Myanmar, #OccupiedPalestinianTerritory, #China, #HongKong, #Sudan, #Nicaragua, and #Türkiye a lower number of reported attacks on highered in #Free2Think2025 indicates effective repression—not improving conditions—for #academicfreedom. Read why: www.scholarsatrisk.org/resources/fr...

SAR is happy to share a new initiative from @wileyonlinelibrary.bsky.social below, and is grateful for their support. Submit a story today!

In #India, a major democracy, student protesters, professors, and universities feel increasing pressure to align w/ the ruling political party to avoid physical violence and/or professional repercussions. The PIE on #Free2Think2025 & #academicfreedom: thepienews.com/academic-fre...

As a result of cuts to USAID, many in #Afghanistan, #SouthAfrica, #Egypt, and more lost access to #highered and life-saving research programs—underscoring the serious global consequences of the #US’ defunding of HE programs. #Free2Think2025 reports: www.scholarsatrisk.org/resources/fr...

The #US govt’s interventions in #highered have been unprecedented in #Free2Think2025, writes @uniworldnews.bsky.social. Undermining university autonomy for ideological reasons sets a dangerous precedent for the US and global #highered. www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?sto...

Known for years as a global leader in #highered and research, the #US saw #academicfreedom levels and university autonomy decline significantly in #Free2Think2025 —posing dire risks to the shrinking space for academic freedom worldwide. #AcademicFreedomIndex www.scholarsatrisk.org/resources/fr...

University autonomy faced grave threats in #Free2Think2025 in authoritarian and democratic states. In both contexts, leaders used their regulatory power to censor curricula, revoke funding, and implement laws that restrict #academicfreedom. www.scholarsatrisk.org/resources/fr...

In #Azerbaijan, the #wrongfulimprisonments of high profile academics like #BahruzSamadov and #IgbalAbilov reflects the shrinking space for academic and cultural expression as well as research critical of the govt. #Free2Think2025 reports more: www.scholarsatrisk.org/resources/fr...

Scholars at Risk was delighted to present on #education and the right to #academicfreedom at the 2025 #SocialForum of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva this week. Education should be a tool of empowerment, not indoctrination. Event info: ow.ly/HA7Q50Xla8Q

In #Free2Think2025, female students in #Iran saw escalating surveillance, physical violence, and arrests for failing to comply with mandatory hijab laws, once again resulting in a “completely restricted” rating from the #AcademicFreedomIndex. www.scholarsatrisk.org/resources/fr...

This #UNDay, SAR affirms the importance of #academicfreedom. Protecting the right for scholars & students to think, write, and share ideas freely will require concrete legal action from intergovernmental bodies and the #humanrights community. Read how: www.scholarsatrisk.org/resources/fr...

#Free2Think2025 documented the #wrongfulimprisonment of student protesters in #Zimbabwe, #Mozambique, #Cameroon, and more, as arrests have been used to suppress student dissent on campuses across the African continent. @uniworldnews.bsky.social: www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?sto...

On the anniversary of Dr. Ahmedreza Djalali’s wrongful conviction in #Iran in 2017, #Free2Think2025 urges Swedish authorities to #FreeDjalali now; not only has Dr. Djalali been convicted w/o evidence, his life is at dire risk now because of it. www.scholarsatrisk.org/resources/fr...

Despite the deadly repression of student protesters from July-August 2024, #Bangladesh saw a slight improvement in the #AcademicFreedomIndex, esp regarding campus integrity—the extent to which campuses are free from surveillance and security infringements. www.scholarsatrisk.org/resources/fr...

The state of #studentexpression in #Serbia drew particular concern in #Free2Think2025 —the national, student-led movement against govt corruption has been met with excessive police force and govt efforts to undermine univerisites as spaces for dissent: www.rferl.org/a/serbia-stu...

#Studentexpression doesn’t just matter on college campuses. As #Free2Think2025 shows, they tap into broader societal discourse and can spark national movements and conversation. Protecting #studentexpression is thus integral to public discourse broadly. www.scholarsatrisk.org/resources/fr...

In honor of SAR's 25th anniversary, the Rector of @tuwien.at explains: “Supporting threatened scholars... highlights WU’s dedication to upholding the principles of academic freedom on an international scale.” Thank you, TU Wien! #SAR25 🔗 www.wu.ac.at/en/the-unive...

Thank you to those who attended SAR’s 25th anniversary year celebration! We are grateful for those who joined us in reaching for “a world where scholars are safe, universities are free, and where everyone enjoys the freedom to think, share, and question ideas freely and safely.”

Today kicks off the US Mid-Atlantic Conference at @nyuniversity! We are excited to welcome the SAR network, partners, and advocates to examine escalating threats to #academicfreedom in the #US and beyond. For a post-event recap in SAR’s monthly newsletter: scholarsatrisk.org/stay-connected

From the Taliban’s targeted attacks on #Afghan scholars who objected to educational policies to police crackdowns on anti-gov’t student protesters in #Bangladesh, violent attacks on #highered retaliated against those who voiced dissent against the gov’t. www.scholarsatrisk.org/resources/fr...

Data from the #AcademicFreedomIndex reveals declining levels of #academicfreedom across authoritarian and democratic contexts. Over the past decade, in fact, global academic freedom levels have shrunk at an accelerating pace. Read why in #Free2Think2025: www.scholarsatrisk.org/resources/fr...

🎙️ ON AIR: We're talking to @scholarsatrisk.bsky.social's Sarah Willcox, @nytimes.com's James Glanz and civil rights attorney Sonya Pfeiffer about why fewer students and scholars are choosing to study and work in the U.S. ❓ Would you leave the country for school or work? 📻 Listen:

Attacks on #US highered detailed in #Free2Think2025 are "unprecedented," SAR's Exec. Dir. Rob Quinn explains w/ @theguardian.com, in that national leaders are using extralegal means to voluntarily dismantle the US as a global leader of education. Read more: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...