Nathan Cofnas, the academic who publicly raised plagiarism allegations against late University of Cambridge professor Jason Arday, has been suspended by Ghent University in Belgium, where he works as a postdoctoral researcher.
Cofnas confirmed his suspension on Thursday, August 20, 2026, saying he was being investigated by the university over alleged discrimination against Arday.
“I am under investigation by my university for discriminating against Arday,” Cofnas wrote in a post on X.
In a separate post, he said: “I was just suspended by Ghent University. They will almost certainly fire me.”
Ghent University subsequently confirmed that it had launched a preliminary disciplinary investigation involving a postdoctoral researcher connected to the controversy.
The university said Cofnas had been suspended as a precaution while the investigation is ongoing. It stressed that the suspension does not represent a final disciplinary decision.
“Academic freedom is important to us, as is open academic debate, even when opinions are controversial,” the university said, adding that such freedom comes with responsibilities and may be restricted to protect the rights of others.
The university said it was assessing whether there were sufficient grounds to refer the matter to its competent disciplinary body.
The development comes amid intense controversy surrounding Arday, who was celebrated in 2023 as Cambridge’s youngest Black professor.
Arday, 41, resigned from his Cambridge position earlier this month following public scrutiny over allegations concerning plagiarism in his academic work. He was later found dead in Battersea, south London, on August 14.
The plagiarism allegations were not established through a formal disciplinary finding against Arday. He had denied deliberately plagiarising but acknowledged mistakes in his academic work. Reports have also noted that his previous university had examined aspects of his academic work.
Cofnas had brought renewed attention to the allegations after publishing claims about similarities between Arday’s doctoral thesis and earlier academic work. The controversy subsequently generated extensive media coverage and wider questions about academic standards, Cambridge’s handling of the matter and the treatment of Black academics.
Cambridge Chancellor Chris Smith described the intense public scrutiny surrounding Arday as a “racist feeding frenzy”, while Arday and his supporters had argued that he was subjected to disproportionate and racially motivated scrutiny.
Ghent University said its leadership was concerned by the recent public statements made by the researcher involved in the controversy.
The university’s rector, Petra De Sutter, and vice-rector, Herwig Reynaert, said academic freedom must be exercised alongside responsibility and respect for the rights and dignity of others.
They added that the institution wanted to be transparent about the disciplinary process but would not prejudge its outcome.
The investigation is therefore ongoing, and no final decision has been announced on Cofnas’s employment or whether further disciplinary action will be taken.
The case has added another dimension to an already contentious debate over academic freedom, plagiarism allegations, institutional accountability and the treatment of scholars in public controversies.
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