Nathan Cofnas, the academic who publicly raised plagiarism concerns about the late Cambridge professor Jason Arday, says he has been suspended by Ghent University in Belgium.
Cofnas made the announcement on Thursday, August 20, 2026. Avisen Danmark reports that the researcher behind the plagiarism accusations against Arday has been suspended by the Belgian university.
According to Reuters, Cofnas said on his account on X that he had been suspended. He added that he expected to be fired, describing his dismissal as almost certain.
Reuters did not report any response from Ghent University in its item on the suspension. The news agency also did not report a stated reason for the decision. The only sourced account of the suspension in the available coverage is Cofnas’s own statement.
The Arday plagiarism row
Cofnas helped trigger wider scrutiny of Arday’s work by publicly alleging plagiarism. The dispute has centered on Arday’s academic record and his appointment at the University of Cambridge. Arday, who was a professor at Cambridge, has since died.
The BBC reported on August 10, 2026, that Cambridge had opened an investigation into Arday. Per that report, the university acted after receiving new information about his academic qualifications and honorary appointments.
The BBC reported on August 7, 2026, that Cambridge said it would continue looking into the circumstances around Arday’s appointment and tenure. The university said the review would proceed even after his resignation.
Earlier, on August 1, 2026, the BBC reported comments from a Cambridge spokesperson on the allegations. As stated by the spokesperson, plagiarism claims about Arday’s thesis and some journal publications had already been examined. Those examinations were carried out by Liverpool John Moores University and by the journals concerned.
The BBC also reported that Cambridge would review its hiring process for senior academics. That review followed Arday’s resignation during the plagiarism dispute.
What prompted the announcement
Reuters says the immediate trigger for the story was Cofnas’s own public post on August 20, 2026, stating that he had just been suspended. The news agency reported no separate external trigger beyond that announcement. It also reported no explanation from Ghent University, leaving the institution’s position unconfirmed in the available coverage.
Ghent University is one of Belgium’s largest universities and is based in the city of Ghent. Cofnas has not been reported as holding a position at Cambridge, the institution at the center of the Arday case. The suspension is the first reported professional consequence for the academic who brought the allegations forward.
