They got off scot-free. The students of the Institut d’études politiques (IEP) of Sciences Po Grenoble were acquitted by the disciplinary commission of the University of Clermont-Auvergne, which had sued them for their complicity in spreading accusations of Islamophobia against professors. This is according to a statement by the head of Sciences Po’s IEP, which ” notes with approval ” the verdict, reported in the newspaper Le Monde on Friday November 26. Only one student was punished by the disciplinary department of the University of Clermont-Auvergne with a temporary suspended suspension. However, this punishment was in the context of another case of defamation. The student had accused a member of the administrative board of the IEP of sexual harassment.In March this year, seventeen students had denounced two of their professors as Islamophobic and did not hesitate to hang posters about them at the entrance of the IEP. This action was massively circulated on the internet, especially by the Unef, and had triggered a fierce controversy. The students’ union later admitted that it had been a “clumsy and dangerous” mistake. The university union Sciences Po Grenoble also reported extensively on the matter. A few days later, the director of the IEP condemned the postings, but explained that one of the teachers concerned had made “extremely problematic” remarks about Islam. The public prosecutor’s office finally opened an investigation for “public vilification” against seventeen students.In May, the Minister of Higher Education, Frédérique Vidal, had called for these students to be “punished” for their “unacceptable” behaviour. This was after she had received a report from the Inspectorate General of Education, Sports and Research (IGESR) recommending that disciplinary proceedings be initiated against the students. The government had also pointed out the ” danger” to the teachers after the posters were put up by their students. Nevertheless, the university’s disciplinary committee unanimously decided otherwise.
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Antisemitism, Antizionism, Jihadism and the Reunited Germany. News by Fred Alan Medforth