Jason Arday had an exceptional journey, from an autistic child to a professor at Cambridge, until his resignation in early August amid plagiarism allegations. His death on Friday has given a dramatic turn to the controversy and confronts both his critics and the prestigious British university with numerous questions.

In March 2023, Jason Arday became the youngest black professor in Cambridge's history at the age of 37. This appointment, in a British academic world where the prestigious faculty remains "dominated by white men," according to diversity policy expert Robin Cohen of Oxford University, gave him visibility far beyond the academic world.

The emotion had not subsided on Monday, and several thousand people gathered in Trafalgar Square in London to pay tribute to him, but also to denounce a "campaign" against him in recent weeks.

In a message read on their behalf at Monday's gathering, his family denounced the "public cruelty to which Jason was subjected," which "was too heavy a burden for any man to bear." "The outpouring of love, support, and grief since his death means the world to us," they added.

A rally was also held in Cambridge in the evening, an AFP photographer observed.

Jason Arday's rise came to a halt at the end of July, with the public exposure of plagiarism accusations, targeting among other things his thesis in sociology of education obtained at Liverpool John Moores University in 2015.

His personal history has also been scrutinized, including his claims that he ran 30 marathons in 35 days, or did not speak until he was 11 years old.

Accusations widely supported in the media, which prompted Cambridge, which had initially defended him, to announce an investigation in early August, and Jason Arday to announce his resignation in the aftermath.

While rejecting accusations of plagiarism and lies, he explained at the time that it was the "only way" to close a "difficult period" with "incessant accusations".

- Culture Wars

Since he was found dead on August 14 at his London home - police have ruled out any suspicious motive, without openly mentioning the possibility of suicide - his family has accused his detractors of waging a "continuous harassment campaign" against him, while the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, spoke of "a pernicious public humiliation".

Others have shifted the blame to the universities that promoted Arday's rise without verifying his background.

In an initial reaction on Monday to the BBC, Cambridge Chancellor Chris Smith said that it was necessary "to be able to apply two principles simultaneously": to rigorously investigate plagiarism, without "giving in to a racist outburst".

For Robin Cohen, the intensity of the campaign against Jason Arday "was certainly fueled by the influence of the American conservative right," which is at the forefront of the "culture wars" that are shaking up universities.

"This would never have gone this far if university officials, and not just at Cambridge, had carried out the rigorous checks" that are necessary for any high-level academic post, stressed former Conservative minister James Cleverly, also on the BBC.

He did, however, acknowledge that Jason Arday's ethnic background "may have played a role" in the intense scrutiny of his writings and background.

- Request for a public inquiry

Jason Arday was born in May 1985 in London to Ghanaian parents.

In his autobiography published on August 11 in the United States entitled "Great and Unfortunate Things" - expected on August 27 in the United Kingdom - he recounted how doctors diagnosed him, as a child, with autism and global developmental delay.

Jason Arday believed that it was his mother, a mental health nurse and anti-racist activist, who helped him defy these predictions by using music to stimulate his language.

After training in sports, he became a physical education teacher before obtaining his doctorate in Liverpool. There, he had written his ambition on his bedroom wall: "One day, I will work at Oxford or Cambridge."

An objective achieved in less than ten years: despite a modest scientific output, he was recruited by Cambridge, which hailed him as an "eminent researcher on issues of race, inequality and education".

On Monday, more than 92,000 people had signed a petition by the activist group Good Law Project calling for a public inquiry into the "continuous harassment suffered by this autistic man".