The College Fix

UPDATED

Yale Law School has terminated the contract of research scholar Helyeh Doutaghi over alleged ties to a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, Samidoun.

The Buckley Beacon independent student newspaper reported Friday that the move comes after she was put on administrative leave March 5.

Alden Ferro, a spokesperson for Yale Law School, told the Beacon: “Over the last three weeks Yale has repeatedly requested to meet with Doutaghi and her attorney to obtain clarifying information and resolve this matter. Unfortunately, she has refused to meet to provide any responses to critical questions, including whether she has ever engaged in prohibited activity with organizations or individuals who were placed on the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list (‘SDN list’).”

“As a result of her refusal to cooperate with this investigation, Ms. Doutaghi’s employment with Yale — which was set to expire this April — has been terminated effective immediately.”

The terror-ties allegations were first reported by the Jewish Onliner on March 2 and quickly picked up by the Beacon.

Doutaghi had been a deputy director of the Law and Political Economy Project at Yale Law School since Sep 2023. Her position was set to expire shortly.

The U.S. Treasury Department stated that Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network is a “sham charity that serves as an international fundraiser for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist organization” in a 2024 news release designating the group as a terror organization.

Doutaghi was identified by Samidoun itself as a “doctoral student of international law and a member of the international Samidoun network” in a July 2022 article.

On March 17, a petition was launched in Doutaghi’s defense, accusing Yale of unfairly railroading her based on anonymous, AI-researched allegations. It has more than 1,000 signatures thus far from professors in the U.S. and Canada.

“Dr. Doutaghi is an internationally recognized and published scholar of international law, political economy, and armed conflict. She completed her PhD in Legal Studies at Carleton University (Ottawa, Canada) in 2024,” the petition states.

“Her PhD Thesis examined the origin, mechanisms, and effects of US and international sanctions against Iran. Throughout her studies, she has always advocated for the rights and self-determination of oppressed people, including Palestinians,” it states.

“We call on Yale University, Yale Law School, and the Law and Political Economy Project to take accountability for the measures taken against Dr. Doutaghi, including restitution of damages and a public statement clearing Dr. Doutaghi’s name and restoring her reputation.”

The Jewish Onliner reported that Doutaghi participated in an April 2022 panel titled “Palestine and Iran – Changing the Global Balance of Power” with Khaled Barakat, designated as a PFLP terrorist by the U.S.

Masar Badil, the organization that hosted the panel, is also considered to be a PFLP front.

In April 2023, Doutaghi participated in the “Liberation Conference” in Ottawa hosted by Masar Badil and posed for a photo under a Samidoun flag. Other attendees included Charlotte Kates, a senior Samidoun member and the wife of Khaled Barakat.

Doutaghi was scheduled to speak at a postponed October 2024 panel she organized titled “The Resistance Front and the New Global Order-Making,” which was sponsored by Samidoun. Khaled Barakat was also listed as a scheduled speaker.

Doutaghi’s lawyer, Eric Lee, did not respond to requests for comment from The College Fix. However, the New York Times reported that Lee “questioned the reliability of Jewish Onliner’s reporting in correspondence with Yale.”

The site’s statement that it is “AI-empowered” has caused an uproar among defenders of Doutaghi who argue it may be spreading false information. However, the details reported in the Jewish Onliner article were verified independently by The Fix.

Doutaghi said in an interview with the New York Times that the reporting was an attempt to silence scholars and “[t]his is the type of thing that happens under fascist dictatorships, which Donald Trump is trying to establish.”

Yale University and Yale Law School did not respond to requests for comment from The Fix.

In a statement to The Buckley Beacon, Alden Ferro, senior associate director of public affairs at Yale Law School, stated: “We take these allegations extremely seriously and immediately opened an investigation into the matter to ascertain the facts.”

The New York Times reported that Ferro also stated that “[s]uch an action is never initiated based on a person’s protected speech” and that Doutaghi may have engaged in “potential unlawful conduct.”

Editor’s note: The post has been amended to reflect breaking news that Doutaghi has been terminated from Yale.

MORE: Academic groups sue Trump admin to stop deportation of pro-Palestinian students

IMAGE CAPTION AND CREDIT: The front entrance to Yale University / Helioscope, Shutterstock

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