Threats faced by academics at ‘dangerously high levels’

A UK charity which rescues academics in danger has warned that the global threat to i ntellectual f reedom is “dangerously high”, after receiving a record number of requests for help.

The Council for At-risk Academics (Cara) aims to save great minds around the world from persecution, political t urmoil, military upheaval, war, unlawful arrest, torture and murder.

The charity, which has saved thousands of lives since its launch in 1933, operates largely away from the public eye in an effort to discreetly relocate academics in immediate danger. In the past century 16 of those rescued – known as “Cara Fellows” – have won Nobel Prizes.

The global focus on academia as scientists work to develop and roll out a vaccine comes as the charity revealed to

that it had “received its highest ever demand for help”. Cara is receiving around five requests a week from academics around the world seeking help and relocation. Many come from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Yemen and Hong Kong. The charity also revealed that scientists rescued f rom war- torn countries such as Syria have been resettled in the UK and are currently working on the effort to combat coronavirus.

Stephen Wordsworth, the charity’s executive director, said: “The threat to academics and to the freedom to learn around the world is reaching dangerously high levels. The need for Cara’s support has never been greater.

“We have recently seen a sharp rise in support for authoritarian governments and extremist leaders, which historically signals a strict and often brutal clampdown on free-thinking scientists and academics who pose a threat to their ambitions.”