THE academic who sparked the pile-on which preceded the death of Jason Arday has claimed he has been suspended by his university.
Nathan Cofnas, a researcher at Ghent University and self-described "race realist", announced the decision on social media and claimed he would "almost certainly" be fired.
Cofnas previously said he was under investigation by the institution for "discriminating against Arday".
The academic revived accusations of plagiarism against Prof Arday in a blog post published last month.
He claimed to have found evidence of copying in the sociologist’s work and said he was unfit to have become Cambridge University’s youngest ever black professor.
Cofnas also cast doubt on elements of Prof Arday’s biography.
The Ghent University researcher has been accused of racism and has made a number of controversial statements, including writing a blog advocating for scientific racism in 2024.
He wrote: “Harvard faculty would be recruited from the best of the best students, which means the number of black professors would approach zero per cent.”
In a statement on social media on Thursday afternoon, Cofnas wrote: "I was just suspended by Ghent University. They will almost certainly fire me.
"The decision was made by rector Petra De Sutter, a former leader of the Green Party."
I was just suspended by Ghent University. They will almost certainly fire me. The decision was made by rector Petra De Sutter, a former leader of the Green Party.
— Nathan Cofnas (@nathancofnas) August 20, 2026
Cofnas said he had been placed under investigation by Ghent University earlier on Thursday.
A Ghent University spokesperson said: "On August 20, 2026, Ghent University formally notified the staff member concerned of the launch of a preliminary disciplinary investigation.
"As part of this process, the university is assessing whether there are sufficient grounds to refer the case to the competent disciplinary body for further consideration.
"Pending this preliminary investigation, Ghent University has suspended the staff member as a precautionary measure.
"The university cannot comment further on the specific details of the disciplinary case or the underlying arguments, in order to safeguard the confidentiality of the personnel file and the disciplinary proceedings."
