Fragile Freedom

In 2016, Eylem Camuroglu Cig took a stand by signing the “Peace Petition” which called for an end to violence in southeastern Turkey. President Erdoğan condemned the signatories as “terrorists”, leading to Camuroglu Cig loosing her job at the university. After the attempted coup in the summer of 2016, the political pressure intensified further. To escape persecution, Eylem Camuroglu Cig fled to Germany at the beginning of 2017. The Turkish government revoked her passport and numerous basic rights, and it is currently impossible for her to return. Nevertheless, Eylem Camuroglu Cig remains committed to academic freedom and critical thinking.
In...

Azadeh Ganjeh advocated for more academic freedom and the rights of her students as a professor in Tehran - despite growing political pressure. Her support for student activism and her critical stance against oppression came at a high price: the loss of her income, ongoing threats, and severe restrictions on her academic work. In 2022, she left her home country and came to Germany to continue her research and advocacy. Today, she works at the University of Hildesheim and HKS Ottersberg and remains passionately committed to academic freedom and diversity of opinion.
In this interview, conducted by Mareike Ilsemann, Azadeh...

The Taliban in Afghanistan are denying girls and women access to education and science. After the Taliban took power in August 2021, the security situation for female researchers deteriorated dramatically. Dr Suhailah Akbari, a legal scholar, was also directly threatened and had to leave the country with her two daughters. After enduring days of uncertainty and fear at Kabul airport, she managed to escape to Germany with the assistance of the German Bundeswehr, ultimately finding refuge there.

*Zum Schutz seiner Identität wurde der Name des Wissenschaftlers geändert und seine Stimme mithilfe künstlicher Intelligenz verfremdet.

Seit Jahren wird die Wissenschaftsfreiheit in Russland durch Wladimir Putins Regime eingeschränkt. Mit Beginn des Krieges in der Ukraine verschärfte sich die Lage gerade für Forschende, die nicht mit dem Krieg einverstanden sind. Angesichts der Repressionen in seiner Heimat konnte der Rechtswissenschaftler Sergei Mikhailov* nach einem Forschungsaufenthalt in Deutschland nicht nach Russland zurückkehren.