USCF Sikh Doctor Fired over Gaza Post; Indians Escape Iran

A Sikh professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (USCF), Dr. Rupa Marya filed a lawsuit 7 Jun, alleging the university violated her freedom of speech by suspending her for online comments on war in Gaza. Dr. Marya’s social media posts included expressing 'solidarity with the hospitals and healthcare workers that Israel was attacking in Gaza.' In a September 2024 post, Dr. Marya wrote that her students were concerned that a first-year student from Israel may have served in the Israel Defense Forces. She asked if that meant he had participated in the genocide of Palestinians and asked her colleagues what to do about it. UCSF called Dr. Marya a 'possible imminent danger' and had placed her on leave. According to court documents, Marya received ‘rape and death threats’ as well as ‘repeated harassment’ because of her posts. Meanwhile, amid the open conflict between Israel and Iran, the families of Husanpreet Singh, Amritpal Singh, and Jaspal Singh—who were kidnapped in Iran while attempting to migrate to Australia—are anxiously waiting for the men to come home. India has initiated the evacuation of its citizens from Iran. The first batch of 100 Indian citizens is expected to cross into Armenia on 17 Jun. Tehran responded to New Delhi's request to provide safe passage for the evacuation of at least 10K students stranded in Iran, as Israel continued bombing major cities. Iran has said that since it has shut its airspace, students can use its land borders to cross into Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan. The Indian Embassy in Tehran said it is continuously monitoring the security situation and engaging students in Iran to ensure their safety. On 14 Jun, India distanced itself from a statement issued by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) condemning recent Israeli strikes on Iran. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs said, 'India did not participate in the discussions on the above-mentioned SCO statement.' The MEA reaffirmed India's independent stance on the Israel-Iran tensions calling for calm and dialogue (earlier coverage).