A French scientist was denied entry to the United States after immigration officers registered their phone and found messages in which he criticized the Trump administration, the Minister of Investigation of France, Philippe Baptiste revealed on Monday.
“I learned with concern that a French researcher” from the National Center for Scientific Research in France (CNRS) “traveling to a conference near Houston was denied entry to the United States before being expelled,” Baptiste said in a statement to the France-Presse (AFP) agency, which was published by Le Monde.
According to Baptiste, the US authorities allegedly took the measure because “the researcher's phone contained exchanges with colleagues and friends in which he expressed a personal opinion on the Trump administration's research policy.”
According to reports, the incident occurred on March 9. Another AFP source declared that US authorities accused the researcher to send “hateful and conspiracy messages.” He was also informed of an FBI investigation, but then they told him that “the charges were removed” before being expelled.
The National Security Department has not responded to requests for comments.
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Baptiste, a vocal critic of the Trump administration and its approach to financing research, condemned the incident and reaffirmed France's commitment to academic freedom. “Freedom of opinion, free research and academic freedom are values that we will continue to defend with pride. I will defend the right of all French researchers to be faithful to them, while we respect the law,” he said.
Coinciding with the expulsion of the scientist, Baptiste had been actively encouraging American researchers to relocate in France, citing concerns about US cuts to scientific research. On March 9, he published a letter inviting researchers to move, writing: “Many known researchers are already questioning their future in the United States.
Naturally, we would like to welcome a certain number of them. “The next day, he shared an image of a virtual meeting with a researcher at the University of Maryland's faculty who had accepted an invitation to work in France.
On March 12, Baptiste published a video of a television appearance in which he criticized the US approach to finance health, weather, energy and artificial intelligence research. “It is being motivated in the United States,” he said.
The specific conference attended by the scientist still is still clear, but the 56th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference was held outside Houston from March 10 to 14.
(The Guardian)
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