Montrealers call for investigation of McGill University instructor who allegedly tweeted hate speech

Montrealers staged a sit-in Thursday evening in front of McGill University’s Roddick Gates- demanding that the university take the proper measures against one of its instructors- who allegedly tweeted hate speech against Iranian protestors on September 22nd.

The tweet, which was originally written in Persian has since been removed by the user.

It read: “How good and heartwarming it will be to experience the execution of hundreds of Mujahidin leaders arrested in the recent riots. Oh God, it is sweet!”

As one of the public speakers of the event explained, “what is deeply problematic here is their threatening use of terminology. They have used the word riot in Persian instead of protest. The word riot is ubiquitously used by the Islamic Republic authorities in order to justify the suppression of recent protests happening all over the country.”

“This is absolutely not acceptable, especially because these comments are misogynistic comments,” said Canadian citizen for the past twenty years and activist, Mandana Javan.

Javan also points to the fact that the user’s tweet is a direct attack on “girls and Iranian women” who are getting arrested by the hundreds in the Iran protests, sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in policy custody.

Eight days following its publication, McGill University addressed the tweet – reminding the McGill community of the importance of freedom of expression.

A statement which stirred controversy.

“McGill just said ‘oh hate speech is okay because that’s freedom of speech’ so whoever wants can say ‘go kill all the protesters and I’ll be so happy and we’ll be okay with that’ and that’s not okay,” said one protester who chose to remain anonymous.

Javan also echoed similar concerns. She said “it was very hard on me because they are calling it liberty of expression, then everyone can express his way of thinking.”

Another member of the McGill community who took the stand on Thursday ordered the university to do more.

“McGill university issued a statement saying they would monitor the situation. We believe this does not suffice. Institutions of higher education like McGill should be prioritizing the security of their students over everything else.”

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An online petition that’s garnered more than 23,500 signatures on the change.org website calls on McGill University to launch a full investigation into the instructor’s alleged hate speech and take the adequate disciplinary measures.

In a statement sent to CityNews McGill University said, “in the wake of these shocking posts, many have urged the University to take swift action. We continue to look into the matter very closely and we have reached out directly to Iranian students at McGill to offer support at this difficult time. We have also encouraged all students, whether Iranian or not, who require support to seek out the resources available at McGill. We recognize that this situation is distressing. As we have reminded our community, it is crucial to remember the importance of procedural fairness in such a heated context, and to take into account the wide protection offered to free expression in our society, even when such expression is distasteful or disturbing.”