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Visiting Professor Behrouz Boochani Receives Fellowship

Behrouz Boochani has been awarded a paid scholarship by The Open Society University Network (OSUN) Threatened Scholars Integration Initiative.

Behrouz Boochani

Behrouz Boochani, Visiting Professor at the School of Law, has been offered a Fellowship by The Open Society University Network (OSUN) Threatened Scholars Integration Initiative. The award will support Boochani from June 2021 to June 2022.

Behrouz Boochani is a Kurdish-Iranian writer, journalist, scholar, cultural advocate and filmmaker, who has won multiple awards for his documentation of life in the Australian offshore detention system and has constantly campaigned for the rights of detainees on the island of Manus. His renowned book ‘No Friend but the Mountains: Writing From Manus Prison’ (Picador 2018), which he wrote via WhatsApp on a mobile phone he kept hidden from the authorities, charts his experiences of incarceration in Papua New Guinea by the Australian government for almost seven years.

The OSUN's Threatened Scholars Integration Initiative aims to support scholars forced to seek alternative teaching, research, or advanced study positions at OSUN institutions outside of their home countries due to threat from authoritarian regimes, persecution for their views and identities, or other risks. The initiative also provides affiliation and support for those who cannot relocate.

Professor Stewart Motha, Dean of the School of Law, commented: "I am delighted that we have been able to facilitate Behrouz Boochani being awarded an OSUN Threatened Scholars Fellowship. While recognition and accolades are common, it is rarer to see it backed up with material support. For this we are grateful to OSUN. We greatly look forward to the collaborations between Behrouz and colleagues in the School of Law at Birkbeck that this award will facilitate."

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