Ismail Alexandrani was detained by Egyptian authorities on November 30th as he was coming back to his country to visit his sick mother. Alexandrani is one of Egypt’s brightest young researchers, who has spent the last few years doing ground-breaking work on the marginalized areas of Egypt – a blind spot in academic studies of the country – as well as on political Islam. His articles have featured in numerous publications and have been presented in international academic conferences, and they have earned him awards and fellowships. In his work, he has constantly demonstrated a genuine intellectual independence. He is a well respected member of the academic community, and someone we personally enjoyed working with. Alexandrani's arrest is a repression of free speech and should be condemned. We hope that he will be
released promptly and return to his friends and to the research community.
First signatures
Francois Burgat, Research Director, CNRS (Centre National pour la Recherche Scientifique).
Vincent Geisser, Research Director, CNRS.
Alain Gresh, Le Monde Diplomatique.
Miriam Catusse, Director of Contemporary Studies, IFPO (Institut Français du Proche–Orient).
Claire Beaugrand, Researcher, IFPO.
Nicolas Dot-Pouillard, Researcher, IFPO.
Laurent Bonnefoy, Researcher, CERI/Sciences Po.
Matthieu Rey, Researcher, College de France.
Stéphane Lacroix, Associate Professor, Sciences Po.
Mounia Bennani-Chraïbi, Professor, Lausanne University.
Ellen Lust, Professsor, Yale and Gottenberg.
Gibert Achcar, SOAS. John Chalcraft, LSE.
Asef Bayat, University of Illinois
Khaled Fahmy Professor, AUC.
Rabab al Mahdi, Professor, AUC.
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Olivier Le Cour Grandmaison, Historien et Universitaire, France
Farhad Khosrokhavar, Head of the “ Centre d'Analyse et d'Intervention Sociologiques”, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), Paris, France
Olivier Roy Head of the “ Mediterranean Program”, European University Institute (EUI), Florence, Italy
Nabil Mouline, Researcher, CNRS, France
John Tolan “Institut du Pluralisme Religieux et de l'Athéisme” (IPRA), Nantes, France
Marwan Mohammed, Ecole Normale Supérieure ( ENS), Paris, France
Loulouwa Al Rachid Researcher, Ceri Sciences Po, WAFAW, Paris , France
Bertrand Badie, Professeur des universités, Sciences PO, France
Raphaël Liogier, Professor, Political Studies Institute (Aix-en-Provence) / International College of Philosophy,( Paris), France
Dominique Avon, Professor, Université du Maine, France
Paul Bonnenfant, Research Director, Centre National pour la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), France
Jean-Pierre Filiu, Professor, Sciences Po, France
Amélie Le Renard, Chargée de recherche CNRS (CMH-PRO)
Eliabeth Longuenesse, Researcher, CNRS
Richard Jacquemond, Professeur de langue et littérature arabes modernes, Département d'études moyen-orientales et IREMAM Université d'Aix-Marseille
Mohammed Hachemaoui, chercheur associé IREMAM
Olfa Lamloum, Politologue, Tunisie
Jean MARCOU, Directeur des relations internationales, Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Grenoble
Haoues SENIGUER, Institut Supérieur d'Etude des Religions et de la Laïcité (ISERL), Lyon, France.
Jean-Paul Chagnollaud , Professeur de Sciences Politiques à l'université de Cergy-Pontoise. Rédacteur en chef de la revue Confluences Méditerranée, et directeur de la collection « Comprendre le Moyen-Orient » L'Harmattan.
Michel Dreyfus, CNRS
Sari Hanafi, Professor, AUB, Lebanon
Bernard Rougier, Professor, Sorbonne University, France
Nadim Khoury, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Department of Philosophy, University of Tromsø, Norway