Violence against academics in post-invasion Iraq

Since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Iraqi academics have frequently been threatened with violence, kidnapped, or murdered. Although it is impossible to determine the exact scale of the violence and intimidation, the Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education reported that over 3,250 academics had fled the country between February and August 2006.cite news|url = http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1553793,00.html|title = Baghdad Bulletin: Death Stalks the Campus|publisher = Time Magazine|last = Ghosh|first = Aparisim|date = 2006-11-02|accessdate = 2007-01-20] According to the Iraqi Association of University Lecturers about 300 academics, including Ph.D.'s working in Iraqi government ministries and university administrators, had been killed before January, 2007.cite news|title =Approximately 300 academics have been killed|last = Crain|first = Charles|publisher = USA Today |url = http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2005-01-16-academics-assassinations_x.htm|date = 2007-01-17|accessdate = 2007-01-20] Other, less reliable, sources have placed the death toll as low as 20 and as high as 1,000.cite news|url = http://english.aljazeera.net/news/archive/archive?ArchiveId=2811|title = Iraqi intellectuals flee 'death squads'|publisher = Al Jazeera|last = Janabi|first = Ahmed|date = 2004-04-06|accessdate=2007-01-20 (Note that many facts in this article contradict other sources.) ]

One of the earliest reports on this violence was Robert Fisk's report in July 2004.cite web
last =Fisk
first =Robert
authorlink = Robert Fisk
coauthors =
title =Academics targeted as murder and mayhem hits Iraqi colleges
work =
publisher =The Independent
date = 14 July 2004
url =http://www.robert-fisk.com/articles414.htm
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2007-02-04 ] Fisk stated that "university staff suspect that there is a campaign to strip Iraq of its academics, to complete the destruction of Iraq's cultural identity which began when the American army entered Baghdad." The violence became the subject of an international appeal by the BRussells Tribunal in January 2006cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =BRussells Tribunal
coauthors =
title =Stop the Assassination of Iraqi academics : A campaign of The BRussells Tribunal and CEOSI
work =
publisher = BRussells Tribunal
date =
url =http://www.brusselstribunal.org/academicsList.htm
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2007-02-04 ] . The BRussells Tribunal continues to collect information on the subject, listing 288 killed academics and 74 threatened academics as of December 24, 2006.cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =BRussells Tribunal
coauthors =
title =List of killed, threatened or kidnapped Iraqi Academics
work =
publisher = BRussells Tribunal
date =
url =http://www.brusselstribunal.org/academicsList.htm
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2007-02-04 ]

Little is known about the group or groups responsible for the attacks. The BRussells Tribunal states that "Not one individual has been apprehended in connection with these assassinations." Various hypotheses that have been claimed for the attacks include a systematic attempt by Iraqi non-state armed opposition groups (Sunni and Shi'ite) cite news|title = Iraq's Deadliest Zone: Schools|author = Jawad, Abdul Sattar|publisher = The Washington Post|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/26/AR2006112600927.html|date = 2006-11-27|accessdate=2007-01-20] cite news|title=Iraq's violent 'brain drain' called a threat to future|publisher=The Boston Globe|author = Bender, Bryan and Stockman, Farrah|date = 2006-11-30|accessdate=2007-01-20|url = http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2006/11/30/iraqs_violent_brain_drain_called_a_threat_to_future/] , or Kuwaiti or Israeli secret services to decimate Iraq's intelligentsia. The BRussells Tribunal takes no position on attributing blame for the violence, stating that "The wave of assassinations appears non-partisan and non-sectarian, targeting women as well as men, and is countrywide."

The extent of the violence against academics has prompted fears of a brain drain in Iraq of those academics who are not killed. According to UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization director-general Koïchiro Matsuura: "By targeting those who hold the keys of Iraq's reconstruction and development, the perpetrators of this violence are jeopardizing the future of Iraq and of democracy." cite web|url = http://shr.aaas.org/emerging_issues/iraq.htm|publisher = American Association for the Advancement of Science|date = 2006-05-09|accessdate = 2007-01-20|title = Threatening and Killing of Scientists in Iraq]

The BRussells Tribunal has called for an independent investigation by the UN Special Rapporteur on summary executions at UNHCHR in Geneva.

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