In recent weeks there have been repeated attempts to slander our staff member Dr Azadeh Zamirirad on social media, to exclude her from public discourse and to cast aspersions on her professional integrity.
The German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) condemns these incidents in the strongest terms. Dr Zamirirad is an acknowledged expert on Iran. She has been a researcher at SWP since 2015, and Deputy Head of our Africa and Middle East research division since 2018.
The ongoing struggle of the Iranian people for freedom and a new political order is a matter of great political import. The SWP will continue to fulfil its role as an independent, research-based institute advising the German Bundestag and the German government. We will vigorously defend academic freedom and resist attempts to obstruct our work. SWP stands firmly behind its staff.