According to Henry Jarecki, the fund’s chairman, Middle Eastern scholars endure gender discrimination, instability in such countries as Iraq, repressive regimes, particularly in Iran, as well as often falling foul of strict religiouis codes and anti-blasphemy laws.

Scholars are being harassed, attacked, jailed and even targeted for assassination in a wide range of countries across the world, according to a new study published by the Institute of International Education.

Universities are places for teaching, studying and learning, but for a prominent scholar in Belarus, researching and publishing on topics that the government considered unpopular led to a progression of abuse that began with being snubbed by academic conferences and isolated at the university and ended with his termination and even death threats.

Kaputu's case, reported by Marianne Onsrud Jawanda in Global Knowledge, is one of dozens related in a new study published by the New York-based Institute of International Education, Scholar Rescue in the Modern World.