Apsara Iyer Explained

Apsara Iyer is an American art crime investigator and the 137th president of the Harvard Law Review.[1] [2] She is the first Indian American woman to be elected to that position.

Early life and education

Iyer was born in Chicago and raised in West Lafayette, Indiana.[1] [3] She attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, and then Yale University, where she received a bachelor's in Spanish and in economics and math.[2] In 2012, she was a finalist for a Rhodes Scholarship. She was awarded the Clarendon Fund scholarship to pursue graduate studies at University of Oxford, where she received an MPhil in economics.[4]

Career

Work to counter antiquities trafficking and art crime

In 2018, Iyer joined the Antiquities Trafficking Unit within the New York County District Attorney's office, working with Matthew Bogdanos on major cases related to art and crime, the illicit antiquities trade, and looted art.[5] She has been instrumental in the return of numerous looted, stolen, and trafficked cultural objects to their countries of origin.[6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] She has been involved in the repatriation of cultural property to 15 different countries, amounting to the return of over 1,100 stolen cultural objects.

In 2021, Iyer spent a summer working with Donna Yates at Maastricht University, researching the application of statutes of limitations in cultural property cases as a Chayes International Public Service Fellow.[13]

Prior to this, she was a volunteer researcher in the Trafficking Culture research consortium and at the University of Pennsylvania's Penn Cultural Heritage Center.[14]

Harvard Law Review Palestinian genocide article controversy

Amidst the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, two editors of the Harvard Law Review solicited an article by Harvard PhD candidate and human rights lawyer Rabea Eghbariah, which "argue[d] that the atrocities in Gaza amount to genocide" and that "the distinctive nature of the domination Palestinians have faced should demand a new category of crime: 'Nakba'."[15] After the article was edited, fact-checked, and initially approved, Iyer intervened to stop its publication, citing safety concerns.[16] After this, an emergency meeting of 100 editors of the Harvard Law Review was called and an anonymous vote was held, in which 63% of editors voted against publication.[17] [15] This move generated public controversy among editors and others.[18] [19]

Personal life

Iyer speaks English, Hindi, and Tamil.

Notes and References

  1. News: Raymond . Nate . January 31, 2023 . Harvard Law Review picks antiquities theft sleuth as new president . Reuters . February 10, 2023.
  2. Web site: Harvard Law Review Elects Apsara Iyer as 137th President News The Harvard Crimson . February 10, 2023 . www.thecrimson.com.
  3. Web site: D'Arcy . David . April 3, 2023 . Antiquities trafficking investigator appointed president of Harvard Law Review—a position once held by Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Barack Obama . April 10, 2023 . The Art Newspaper.
  4. Web site: January 30, 2023 . Apsara Iyer '24 elected president of the Harvard Law Review . February 10, 2023 . Harvard Law School.
  5. News: Mashberg . Tom . November 17, 2021 . Looking for a Stolen Idol? Visit the Museum of the Manhattan D.A.. The New York Times . February 10, 2023 . 0362-4331.
  6. Web site: January 5, 2023 . D.A. Bragg Returns Stolen Antiquity to the Palestinian Authority . February 10, 2023 . Manhattan District Attorney's Office.
  7. Web site: October 17, 2022 . D.A. Bragg Returns 307 Stolen Antiquities to the People of India . February 10, 2023 . Manhattan District Attorney's Office.
  8. Web site: July 20, 2022 . D.A. Bragg Returns 142 Antiquities Valued at Nearly $14 Million to the People of Italy . February 10, 2023 . Manhattan District Attorney's Office.
  9. Web site: December 14, 2022 . D.A. Bragg Announces Return of Antiquities Looted from the Iraqi Museum in 2003 . February 10, 2023 . Manhattan District Attorney's Office.
  10. Web site: September 6, 2022 . D.A. Bragg Returns 58 Stolen Antiquities to the People of Italy . February 10, 2023 . Manhattan District Attorney's Office.
  11. Web site: Black Rock of Durga Stele returned to people of Nepal . February 10, 2023 . www.ice.gov.
  12. Web site: Cambodia . U. S. Mission . June 10, 2021 . Manhattan D.A.'s Office Returns 27 Antiquities to Cambodia . February 10, 2023 . U.S. Embassy in Cambodia.
  13. Web site: Kunycky . Audrey . Expanding their horizons . February 10, 2023 . Harvard Law School.
  14. Web site: Participants . February 10, 2023 . The Visual Heritage Project.
  15. News: Eghbariah . Rabea . November 22, 2023 . The "Harvard Law Review" Refused to Run This Piece About Genocide in Gaza . November 24, 2023 . 0027-8378.
  16. News: Tait . Robert . November 22, 2023 . Harvard journal accused of censoring article alleging genocide in Gaza. The Guardian . November 24, 2023 . 0261-3077.
  17. Web site: Harvard Law Review Editors Vote to Kill Article About Genocide in Gaza. Natasha. Lennard. November 22, 2023. The Intercept.
  18. Web site: The Nation Publishes Gaza Genocide Article Killed by Harvard Law Review . November 25, 2023 . www.commondreams.org.
  19. Web site: November 24, 2023 . Harvard journal allegedly censors article holding Israel responsible for genocide . November 25, 2023 . Arab News.

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