Iran-born Yale scholar fired over allegations of working with terrorist-tied 'sham charity'

close

Video

Columbia leadership chaos: Interim president resigns amid White House funding fight

Fox News correspondent CB Cotton breaks down the campus chaos at Columbia University on ‘The Big Weekend Show.’

A Yale University Law School associate research scholar was terminated after failing to disclose information about her alleged ties to Samidoun Network, a Canada-based group designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department.

Iranian-born Helyeh Doutaghi was fired Friday, three weeks after being put on administrative leave after allegations were made that she was part of the Samidoun Network, classified as "a sham charity" by the federal government for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a U.S-designated terrorist organization.

"Over the last three weeks, Yale has repeatedly requested to meet with Ms. Doutaghi and her attorney to obtain clarifying information and resolve this matter," Yale spokesperson Alden Ferro said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. "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 that were placed on the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list ('SDN List')."

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY YIELDS TO TRUMP ADMIN DEMANDS OVER REVOKED $400M IN FEDERAL FUNDING

Anti-Israel protesters march ahead of the start of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Aug. 18, 2024. (Fox News Digital?)

As such, the university terminated Doutaghi, effective immediately, over her "refusal to cooperate" with their investigation. The university, which saw its fair share of anti-Israel protests last year and a large-scale graduation walkout, noted her short-term employment was already set to expire in April. 

Doutaghi was appointed deputy director of the Law and Political Economy (LPE) Project at the unversity in October 2023. According to her bio on the Palestine Center for Public Policy website, her "research explores the intersections of the Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL), encompassing Marxian and postcolonial critiques of law, sanctions, and international political economy."

She is also an incoming post-doctoral fellow at the University of Tehran, according to the website, where her focus will be "completing her manuscript on Iranian sanctions regime and neoliberalism."

HAWLEY BLASTS 'INSANE' LIBERAL ATTORNEY DURING SENATE HEARING ON CAMPUS ANTISEMITISM

Yale graduates stage a walkout during the commencement ceremony in New Haven, Connecticut, May 20, 2024. (Richard Harbus for Fox News Digital)

The allegations about Doutaghi were first made by Jewish Onliner, a Substack "Empowered by A.I. capabilities," according to its X account.

"Rather than defend me, the Yale Law School moved within less than 24 hours of learning about the report to place me on leave," Doutaghi wrote in a statement on X earlier this month. "I was given only a few hours’ notice by the administration to attend an interrogation based on far-right AI-generated allegations against me, while enduring a flood of online harassment, death threats, and abuse by Zionist trolls, exacerbating ongoing unprecedented distress and complications both at work and at home."

Doutaghi said she was "afforded no due process and no reasonable time to consult" with her attorney.

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT RESIGNS AFTER MONTHS OF MOUNTING PRESSURE OVER ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTS

Anti-Israel protests at Yale University and the University of Michigan. (Fox Detroit; Fox News Digital)

The termination of Doutaghi comes as the Trump administration has been clamping down on allegations of antisemitism across Ivy League schools. 

Several students holding visas or green cards have since filed lawsuits against the Trump administration, alleging First Amendment violations.

"Immediate action will be taken by the Department of Justice to protect law and order, quell pro-Hamas vandalism and intimidation, and investigate and punish anti-Jewish racism in leftist, anti-American colleges and universities," a White House fact sheet on the executive order said. 

Trump also vowed to deport Hamas sympathizers and revoke student visas. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Columbia University student and anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil was among the first students to face allegations from the Trump administration over his green card application, in which he was accused of omitting details about his employment history.

The administration subsequently pulled $400 million in federal funding from Columbia University, citing its handling of anti-Israel protests on campus last year. The Ivy League school announced on Friday it would implement significant policy changes to comply with the administration's demands.