The Swedish Discrimination Ombudsman (DO) has found Stockholm University guilty of bias after rejecting the internship application of a Turkish student, Fatma Zehra S., because “Türkiye blocked Sweden’s NATO membership.”
According to a report by Swedish State Radio (SR), the DO issued a statement noting that the student’s application, submitted on Dec. 5, 2022, had been evaluated and reviewed. The investigation revealed that the student had been subjected to ethnic discrimination and Stockholm University was found guilty of discrimination.
Fatma Zehra S., a third-year psychology student at Ibn Haldun University in Istanbul, applied for an internship at Stockholm University on Nov. 23, 2022, through the European Union Erasmus program. She expressed interest in participating in a research project led by professor Per Carlbring, sending him an email. However, she received a response from Carlbring saying, “Dear Fatma, I would love to host you, but since Türkiye blocked Sweden’s NATO membership, I must reject your application. I’m sorry.”
After reporting the incident to DO on Dec. 5, 2022, Fatma Zehra S. received an apology letter from Torun Lindholm Ojmyr, the vice chair of the Psychology Department at Stockholm University, acknowledging that Carlbring’s actions were inappropriate and wrong.
Despite the negative experience, Fatma Zehra S. explained that her application was later accepted by another professor in the psychology department of the same university.