Apsara Iyer

Apsara Iyer
Born
Chicago, Illinois, US
EducationYale University, University of Oxford
Alma materPhillips Academy
OccupationArt crime investigator
Employer(s)New York County District Attorney's office, Maastricht University
AwardsClarendon Fund scholarship

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.[2]

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 crime, the illicit antiquities trade, and looted art.[1][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.[4]

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.[4][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

Two weeks into the Gaza war, the online chairs of the Harvard Law Review solicited an essay for the HLR's online blog from the Palestinian human rights lawyer and Harvard doctoral candidate Rabea Eghbariah. Eghbariah's essay, titled "The Ongoing Nakba: Towards a Legal Framework for Palestine", stated 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][16] After the essay had gone through the regular editorial process, including editing, fact-checking, and initial approval, Iyer intervened to stop its publication, citing safety concerns.[15][17] 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.[15][16] According to Tascha Shahriari-Parsa, one of the online chairs of the HLR, the decision to pull the essay from publication "revolved around concerns about editors who might oppose or be offended by the piece, as well as concerns that the piece might provoke a reaction from members of the public who might in turn harass, dox or otherwise attempt to intimidate our editors, staff and HLR leadership."[18] The decision to pull the piece, which would have been the HLR's first publication by a Palestinian scholar,[19] generated public controversy among editors and others.[15][20][21]

Personal life

Iyer speaks English, Hindi, and Tamil.[3][5]

References

  1. ^ a b c Raymond, Nate (January 31, 2023). "Harvard Law Review picks antiquities theft sleuth as new president". Reuters. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "Harvard Law Review Elects Apsara Iyer as 137th President | News | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  3. ^ a b 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". The Art Newspaper. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c "Apsara Iyer '24 elected president of the Harvard Law Review". Harvard Law School. January 30, 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  5. ^ a b Mashberg, Tom (November 17, 2021). "Looking for a Stolen Idol? Visit the Museum of the Manhattan D.A." The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 10, 2023.(subscription required)
  6. ^ "D.A. Bragg Returns Stolen Antiquity to the Palestinian Authority". Manhattan District Attorney's Office. January 5, 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  7. ^ "D.A. Bragg Returns 307 Stolen Antiquities to the People of India". Manhattan District Attorney's Office. October 17, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  8. ^ "D.A. Bragg Returns 142 Antiquities Valued at Nearly $14 Million to the People of Italy". Manhattan District Attorney's Office. July 20, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  9. ^ "D.A. Bragg Announces Return of Antiquities Looted from the Iraqi Museum in 2003". Manhattan District Attorney's Office. December 14, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  10. ^ "D.A. Bragg Returns 58 Stolen Antiquities to the People of Italy". Manhattan District Attorney's Office. September 6, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  11. ^ "Black Rock of Durga Stele returned to people of Nepal". www.ice.gov. September 6, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  12. ^ Cambodia, U. S. Mission (June 10, 2021). "Manhattan D.A.'s Office Returns 27 Antiquities to Cambodia". U.S. Embassy in Cambodia. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  13. ^ Kunycky, Audrey. "Expanding their horizons". Harvard Law School. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  14. ^ "Participants". The Visual Heritage Project. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  15. ^ a b c d Lennard, Natasha (November 22, 2023). "Harvard Law Review Editors Vote to Kill Article About Genocide in Gaza". The Intercept.
  16. ^ a b Eghbariah, Rabea (November 22, 2023). "The "Harvard Law Review" Refused to Run This Piece About Genocide in Gaza". ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  17. ^ Tait, Robert (November 22, 2023). "Harvard journal accused of censoring article alleging genocide in Gaza". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  18. ^ Tait, Robert (November 22, 2023). "Harvard journal accused of censoring article alleging genocide in Gaza". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
  19. ^ Lennard, Natasha (November 22, 2023). "Harvard Law Review Editors Vote to Kill Article About Genocide in Gaza". The Intercept. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
  20. ^ "The Nation Publishes Gaza Genocide Article Killed by Harvard Law Review". www.commondreams.org. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  21. ^ "Harvard journal allegedly censors article holding Israel responsible for genocide". Arab News. November 24, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
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