politics
Melbourne Professor Discovers He Was Listed as Co-Author on Iranian Journal Paper Without His Knowledge
Prof Abbas Rajabifard of the University of Melbourne said he had no involvement in a March 2023 journal article co-authored by Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. Rajabifard had his name removed from the paper in February after discovering the listing in January. The article appeared shortly before Australian ministers urged universities to halt research ties with Iranian institutions.
May 14, 11:00 AM·2m read1 source
The GuardianAudio version
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U.S. The Guardian reported that Ghalibaf, a former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander and an associate professor in political geography at the University of Tehran, appeared alongside Rajabifard on the March 2023 paper. I’S Political Economy and Reconstructing of the Social Economy,' was published in the Iran-based Journal of Applied Researchers in Geographical Sciences by Kharazmi University.
Other academics at the University of Tehran were also listed as co-authors. Rajabifard told The Guardian he had “no involvement in the article” and had the journal remove his name earlier this year. Rajabifard said he was not aware that he was listed as a co-author until January.
He wrote to the journal immediately in January as a formal notification and request for removal of unauthorised authorship. “I stated clearly and unambiguously that I had no involvement in that paper,” Rajabifard said. “I did not participate in the study or writing of the manuscript, nor was I consulted or informed at any stage of the research or submission process by the corresponding author or any of the other listed co-authors.
His name was removed from the journal website in February. For more than two years, Rajabifard’s name remained listed as a co-author on the journal’s website and on a UN database. Rajabifard stated he has never worked or connected or published articles with Mr Ghalibaf or any IRGC members.
In 2016, Rajabifard was a guest at the University of Tehran’s Faculty of Geography. Rajabifard said he was part of a University of Melbourne delegation that visited Tehran University and a number of other universities in 2016 and 2017.
