BASEES Solidarity Statement with DOXA

BASEES is greatly concerned by the news that, on 14 April 2021, Russian police forces raided the office of DOXA – an independent student-run journal – and arrested its four editors. The DOXA editors Armen Aramyan, Natalia Tyshkevich, Vladimir Metelkin, and Alla Gutnikova, have been charged under Article 151.2 of the Criminal Code for “involvement of youth in activities that can be harmful to them​". The charge carries a potential sentence of three years in prison. BASEES sees this development as the latest in a series of attacks to limit academic freedom, freedom of expression and association, and student activism in Higher Education in the Russian Federation. The persecution of the editors will have a chilling effect on student media in the country. The Executive Committee of BASEES would like to express its strong solidarity with DOXA – its editors and journalists – who have been a strong voice defending academic freedom, critical thinking, and students’ rights. We are encouraging BASEES members to sign the DOXA Solidarity Statement.  

Executive Committee of BASEES

04/05/2021