Baala Shakya, Staff Photographer

Three weeks after being placed on administrative leave, Yale Law School is terminating associate research scholar Helyeh Doutaghi’s contract, citing her “refusal to cooperate.” Doutaghi was put on “immediate administrative leave” on March 4, following allegations that she is a member of the Samidoun Network, a designated terrorist organization in Canada and sanctioned “sham charity” in the U.S. 

According to a statement from the Law School, over the last three weeks, Yale has requested to meet with Doutaghi and her attorney. Per the statement, Doutaghi has “refused” to meet or provide responses to questions of whether she has engaged in prohibited activity with organizations or individuals placed on the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list. 

“As a result of her refusal to cooperate with this investigation, Ms. Doutaghi’s employment with Yale — which was already set to expire this April — has been terminated effective immediately,” the Law School released in a statement issued in response to an inquiry by the News. 

In an email to the News, Doutaghi described the Law School statement as one “capitulating” to the Trump administration’s attack on free speech rights of “non-citizens.” 

“The claim that I ‘refused to cooperate’ is simply wrong. I made repeated offers to answer Yale’s questions in writing and Yale refused each time,” Doutaghi wrote to the News. 

When reached for comment, the Law School referred the News back to its original statement. 

The Law School first put Doutaghi on administrative leave on Tuesday, March 4. The Jewish Onliner reported the allegations on Sunday, March 2, claiming that Doutaghi is a member of the international Samidoun network, or Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network. The U.S Department of the Treasury identified Samidoun as a “sham charity” that is a fundraising front for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorist organization.

The statement adds that Yale “independently reviewed source materials,” drawing attention to text on the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network’s website that identified Doutaghi as a member of its organization. 

On March 12, Doutaghi released a statement on X asserting her innocence and alleging “bad faith” on behalf of YLS, describing allegations as “AI-Fabricated claims.” 

“What is clear is that YLS actions constitute a blatant act of retaliation against Palestinian solidarity  – a violation of my constitutional rights, free speech, academic freedom, and fundamental due process rights,” Doutaghi wrote. 

At Yale Law School, Doutaghi has worked as an associate research scholar and a deputy director of the Law and Political Economy Project since September 2023. Before serving as an associate research scholar at Yale, Doutaghi taught topics including social justice and international human rights at Carleton University. 

The position was expected to expire next month.

Doutaghi’s lawyer, Eric Lee, issued an additional statement. Lee’s statement reads that Yale is “bending the knee” to efforts from the Trump administration to suppress freedom of speech and academic freedom on college campuses. 

Lee’s statement calls on Yale to reinstate Doutaghi, restore her access to campus and email, and to take public action to restore her reputation. 

Since the initial allegations, the New York Times reported that the Jewish Onliner says it is “empowered by A.I. capabilities” on its website. The Jewish Onliner does not identify any reporters on its site. 

Doutaghi’s statement alleges the role of AI in generating allegations and is titled, “Suspended for Pro-Palestine Speech: My Statement on Yale Law School’s Embrace of AI-Generated Smears.” 

The Law School noted that the suspension is not based on violating Doutaghi’s protected speech. 

“To be clear, Yale does not take administrative action based on press reports and such an action is never initiated based on a person’s protected speech,” the Law School statement reads.

Yale Law School is located at 127 Wall St.

Update, March 28: This article was updated to include a comment from Helyeh Doutaghi.