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TU Delft is planning to press charges over YouTube video

TU Delft intends to press charges in a case of a former PhD candidate who has made negative statements on social media about the supervision during his unfinished PhD trajectory at TU Delft. The university announced so in a release on their website. The spokesperson did not provide further details on the exact grounds for the complaint. It is unknown whether the charges will be pressed against the former PhD candidate himself.

The former PhD candidate, originally from China and affiliated with the Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, claims in a video on YouTube that his work was unfairly assessed. He accuses his (co-)supervisors of bullying, discrimination, coercion, and abuse of power.

He also asserts that he is being followed by TU staff members and that they have placed clothing items and a dead rat in his room. His YouTube video, posted on January 19, has been viewed over 200,000 times at the time of writing and has received almost 3,000 comments. The former PhD candidate is sharing the same message on other social media platforms.

Threatening messages

As a result of his statements, TU Delft reports receiving ‘several threatening messages’ and has decided to press charges. “While we understand that there is a great deal of frustration, it is unacceptable for anyone to intimidate and threaten our staff. Making such threats is prohibited and is not the way we treat each other at our university.”

The university states that it has been in talks with the parties involved for some time. “TU Delft deeply regrets this situation. We have had several conversations with him over a period of time and have acted with the utmost care during the process.” For privacy reasons, the university has chosen not to provide further details. The message ends with a call to not further spread the messages on social media, but instead report them directly to the university.

The Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management has taken preventive measures, as reported by Dean Sabine Roeser in an email reviewed by Delta. While Roeser states that there is no cause for concern, additional security personnel are being deployed.

Correction 18h35: In an earlier version of this article it was stated that TU Delft intends to press charges against the former PhD candidate. That turned out to be incorrect; it is still unknown against whom the charges would be pressed.

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