A senior lecturer at De Montfort University in Leicester said it is “funny” and “not realistic” to imagine Hamas carried out horrific sexual crimes on October 7. 

In an email to the JC titled ‘Your fake news’, Dr Ahmet Orun wrote: “Any news related to ‘horrific sexual crimes committed by Hamas on October 7’ is not realistic at all. 

“Can you imagine, how someone fight and commit sexual activity [sic] in same time in a very limited military activity time. They become a poor target.

“It is really funny!!”

According to the De Montfort University website Orun is a senior lecturer at the university’s School of Computer Science.

When questioned about his comments he told the JC he had sought to give “advice for justification on your news policy to be more realistic [sic]”.

Dr Ahmet Orun (Credit: De Montford University)

The Department of Education awarded De Montfort University an overall silver rating in the 2023 Teaching Excellence Framework. 

In March, the United Nations published a report indicating that rape and gang rape likely occurred during the October 7 onslaught, and that “clear and convincing” evidence showed that hostages were raped while being held in Gaza.

A documentary on Hamas’ sex crimes was recently released on YouTube.

De Montfort University is named after Simon de Montfort, a 13th century English nobleman credited with establishing the first representative English Parliament.

As Earl of Leicester, however, he expelled Jews from the city, cancelled debts owed to Jews, and his followers massacred Jews in several English cities.

De Montfort University debated changing the name of the school after a proposal was brought forward by the Student Union in 2020, but after an “extensive series of engagements” the school ultimately decided to keep the name due to an “overriding consensus… that there is value in remembering historical events and actions in order that lessons be learned from them.”

De Montfort University said in a statement: “These views are not in any way shared by the university. What is unfolding in the Gaza-Israel conflict is an appalling, horrific human experience. In a global university community like ours, it is inevitable that staff will hold differing personal views about the conflict but we do not condone or accept any defence or support of terrorist organisations.”