Academic who accused Arday of plagiarism suspended by university.
Ghent University suspended Nathan Cofnas on Aug. 20 and opened a preliminary disciplinary investigation into the postdoctoral researcher. Cofnas had publicly accused Cambridge professor Jason Arday of plagiarism before Arday was found dead in London on Friday.
- Cofnas posted on X: 'I was just suspended by Ghent University. They will almost certainly fire me.'
- Arday, 41, resigned from Cambridge this month and was found dead in Battersea, London.
- 30,000+ people attended a London vigil for Arday earlier this week, organizers said.
- Cofnas was dismissed from Emmanuel College, Cambridge in 2024.
Why it matters: Ghent's rector and vice-rector said academic freedom 'is not unlimited' and must be balanced against protecting others' rights.
- The university cited being 'shocked' by Arday's death and said it 'opposes discrimination, hatred and racism.'
- Cambridge's chancellor, Chris Smith, described coverage of the Arday affair as a 'racist feeding frenzy.'
How 5 sources split on this story
Where they split: The core dispute is whether Cofnas exposed legitimate academic misconduct or conducted a racially motivated campaign that contributed to Arday's death.
Left coverage, 2 sources: The left frames Cofnas as an 'anti-woke' blogger with a documented history of racist statements whose unproven allegations contributed to a climate that drove Arday to his death.
Right coverage, 2 sources: The right frames Cofnas as a researcher who exposed genuine academic fraud and is now being punished for it by a university reacting to political pressure rather than evidence.
What’s next: Ghent will decide whether to refer the case to a formal disciplinary body.
- The university said it cannot comment further to protect confidentiality of proceedings.
- What specific conduct is under investigation — the plagiarism allegations themselves, or Cofnas's public statements and prior blog posts?
- Whether any formal investigation into Arday's alleged plagiarism or biographical claims will proceed now that he has died.
- What role, if any, Cambridge's handling of the affair played in the sequence of events.