Harry Pettit, assistant professor of human geography at Radboud University, filed a complaint against outgoing minister Gouke Moes (Education, BBB) on Thursday. That reports de Volkskrant Friday, and is confirmed by Pettit’s lawyer Adem Çatbaş NRC. Pettit believes that Moes through statements in the program Café Kockelmann his freedom of expression is limited.
Pettit has long been outspoken on social media about the war in the Gaza Strip. In one of his X messages he wrote that it is “time to finish what the Palestinians started on October 7.” He also called Hamas’s attack “a legitimate resistance operation.”
According to Moes, the university lecturer commits criminal offenses with these types of statements. The minister said last Friday in the WNL talk show Café Kockelmann that he therefore wants Radboud University to file a report against Pettit. If the Nijmegen university does not do this, the minister would take steps on the “escalation ladder”.
‘Restriction of freedom of expression’
Moes explained that in such a case he would first discuss this with the university’s Executive Board. If this does not result in a report, he can approach the Supervisory Board and ask the Education Inspectorate to investigate the matter. Moes did not explicitly say that he will do that, but spoke of “different instruments” that he could use.
Pettit’s lawyer Adem Çatbaş agrees de Volkskrant that Minister Moes is putting pressure on the Public Prosecution Service with his statements and restricting his client’s freedom of expression. “This not only undermines the rule of law, academic freedom and freedom of expression, but also constitutes an official misconduct.”
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