BRISMES Committee on Academic Freedom
The BRISMES Committee on Academic Freedom was set up to monitor and defend academic freedom in the research, study and teaching of Middle East Studies in the UK and anywhere in the world, including in academic institutions in the Middle East and North Africa.
To learn more about how the committee works, please see the Terms of Reference.
The current Chair of the BRISMES Committee on Academic Freedom is Lewis Turner (Senior Lecturer in International Politics, Newcastle University).
Latest Statement/Letter
The Committee on Academic Freedom of the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (BRISMES) expresses its unequivocal condemnation of the recent targeting of universities, schools and research institutions across Iran by the United States and Israel.
Universities are protected civilian institutions under international humanitarian law. Reports of widespread and repeated attacks on centres of higher education and scientific research across multiple Iranian provinces represent a deeply troubling escalation. Such actions may constitute violations of international law and, if substantiated, could amount to war crimes.
We stand in solidarity with university staff and students in Iran, Lebanon and Palestine as well as in all other conflict-affected areas.
14 April 2026
Previous Statements
Please find here the list of statements published by the Committee on Academic Freedom.
Previous Letters
Please find here the list of public letters published by the Committee on Academic Freedom.
Database of Expertise
The Database of Expertise in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies provides a publicly available list of MENA experts with their research and areas of expertise.
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