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Sacked Auckland University lecturer Paul Buchanan says he has been painted as a racist and has received death threats after refusing an assignment extension to an Arab student.
Buchanan said he had been pilloried in the Middle Eastern press and there had been calls for his head.
"There are some hot-heads who believe my life should be ended. In Dubai a lot of people consider me to be a very bad racist. I've also had some nasty emails, telling me to rot in hell and saying I deserve to die."
Buchanan was sacked from the university's political studies department after sending a blunt email to United Arab Emirates student Asma Al Yammahi, who requested an extension, saying her father had died.
In the email Buchanan said: "I say this reluctantly but not so subtly: you are not suitable for a graduate degree. It does not matter if your father died or if you have a medical certificate. You are close to failing in any event, so these sort of excuses - culturally driven and preying on some sort of Western liberal guilt - are simply lame."
Buchanan described the email as a "temper tantrum", for which he had apologised.
His union, the Association of University Staff, has launched a case for unjustified dismissal. Buchanan, 52, said he was confident of getting his job back, but feared his reputation might have been "irreparably damaged".
Buchanan said he was willing to accept some form of disciplinary sanction but he felt the university's action had been draconian.
