Belgium’s Ghent University suspends academic behind Arday plagiarism case

Ghent University has suspended Nathan Cofnas, the academic behind plagiarism allegations against the late Jason Arday, according to Premium Times.

Cofnas announced the suspension on X, saying he expects to be fired, with the decision made by rector Petra De Sutter. Cofnas, previously dismissed from Cambridge in 2024 over racist views, had published an analysis in July claiming Arday’s 2015 PhD thesis closely matched earlier academic works.

Arday denied intentional misconduct, citing inadequate supervision and autism. He resigned amid the scrutiny and was found dead in London days later. Ghent University said it took Cofnas’s statements “very seriously.”