The European Council of Doctoral Candidates and Junior Researchers (Eurodoc) has observed the ongoing protests in Iran since September 2022, and together with our partners at the International Consortium of Research Staff Associations (ICoRSA), Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA) and Young Academy of Europe (YAE), on the 21st of February we released a joint statement on the situation and what it means in particular for researchers and women.
We see in several places around the world, how researchers are being criminalised for nothing else but choosing a research field or topic that the authorities find unfavourable. We observe infringements on academic freedom, not only in Iran, but also in our close vicinity. However, we also acknowledge how research can serve as a tool for political and societal change, and how scholars are taking a risk to fight for rights of freedom and even basic human rights.
In this context, we strongly advocate for concrete support to researchers persecuted for their research activity by any authoritarian regime, and here specifically for concrete support to researchers in Iran.
Read the full statement here: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7659140
Other useful links: https://www.scholarsatrisk.org/tag/iran/
Cite as: European Council of Doctoral Candidates and Junior Researchers, International Consortium of Research Staff Associations, Marie Curie Alumni Association, Young Academy of Europe (2023) Joint Statement on the Current Situation of Researchers in Iran and other authoritarian contexts (1.0.0). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7659140