International academics have criticised the New Zealand government over its reaction to the alleged targeting of Canterbury University professor Anne-Marie Brady.
Photo: Wilson Centre
Prof Brady says her office has been broken into twice, her house burgled and her car tampered with since publishing a paper on the influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) last year.
An open letter with 169 signatures from academics, journalists and politicians has been published this morning on the Czech website Sinopsis.
The letter states: "We, the undersigned concerned scholars and others with an interest in China, have been alarmed and appalled by the recent wave of intimidation directed against our colleague, Professor Anne-Marie Brady..."
It said the New Zealand government had failed to acknowledge a problem existed and was refusing to provide police protection for Prof Brady.
Last week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she had not yet received a report on the investigation into the incidents.
She told Morning Report if the investigation was to find national security concerns or foreign involvement she would be notified, and she was waiting until it was completed before making any decisions.
The letter called on the government to give Prof Brady protection so she could continue her research.
"These circumstances make it likely that this harassment campaign constitutes a response to her research on the CCP's influence and an attempt to intimidate her into silence."
Last week, 29 academics, researchers and human rights advocates wrote an open letter to the prime minister in support of Prof Brady.
A spokesperson for the prime minister said she supported and defended the legal right to academic freedom, as set out in law.
"The matters contained in this letter are under investigation by the police and it is not appropriate to comment on them before the investigation is finished."