JERUSALEM (VINnews) — A disciplinary appeals panel at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has rejected an appeal by mathematics professor Karim Alexander Adiprasito, upholding his conviction for sexually harassing and committing indecent acts against a doctoral student whom he supervised.

The case has drawn renewed attention because the student, Johanna Christina Steinmayer, died by apparent suicide after giving evidence in the disciplinary proceedings but before the case had been fully concluded. The ruling stated that the panel was not aware of evidence establishing a direct connection between her death and the complaint.

According to the disciplinary proceedings, Steinmayer came to Israel in 2018, at the age of 21, to pursue research in the Hebrew University’s Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. Her professional relationship with Adiprasito deteriorated toward the end of 2020.

The disciplinary court found that after criticizing her academic work, Adiprasito began offering her increased assistance and speaking with her on a daily basis. The court concluded that he subsequently developed an inappropriate relationship with the student, who was heavily dependent on him both academically and financially.

Much of the conduct described in the case took place during trips to academic conferences abroad. During a conference in Paris in February 2021, Adiprasito allegedly touched Steinmayer and offered her massages. On another trip later that year, she was told that she would have a separate room, but discovered upon arrival that the accommodation contained only one bed.

During the proceedings, Adiprasito acknowledged that he and Steinmayer had shared a bed approximately 60 times. He reportedly argued that such behavior occurred between friends. The disciplinary court rejected his characterization of the relationship and found that Steinmayer had become emotionally dependent on him and was placed in an impossible position because of his authority over her academic future. The court also rejected his argument that Steinmayer was an unsuccessful academic and that his conduct had been intended to advance her research.

Adiprasito was convicted of several disciplinary offenses, including sexual harassment, indecent acts and repeated sexually oriented remarks. He was also found to have abused his position as her doctoral supervisor. However, the court did not uphold every allegation against him, including an allegation of retaliation following her rejection of a romantic relationship, for which it found insufficient evidence.

The original disciplinary court ordered Adiprasito to pay compensation equivalent to two gross monthly salaries to Steinmayer. The appeals panel left the sentence unchanged, while explicitly noting that it considered the punishment relatively lenient given the seriousness of the conduct. The panel explained that neither the university nor the complainant had appealed specifically against the severity of the sentence.

The case also took years to resolve. Steinmayer filed her complaint with the university’s sexual-harassment commissioner in September 2023, after years of working under Adiprasito. The disciplinary conviction was handed down in December 2025, and the appeals process continued afterward.

Friends of Steinmayer have criticized what they describe as prolonged proceedings and accused the university system of failing to move quickly enough while she repeatedly asked for more frequent hearings.

The Hebrew University said it had acted in accordance with Israel’s law on prevention of sexual harassment and that the proceedings sought to protect both the complainant and the defendant’s right to a fair hearing. The university said it was particularly concerned about attempts to delay the proceedings and has established a team to examine whether disciplinary cases involving sexual harassment can be handled more quickly and efficiently.

The university also expressed sorrow over Steinmayer’s death and said she had lived to see the first-instance ruling accept her account in full. It declined to provide further details, citing the family’s request that her identity remain confidential.

Adiprasito is a German mathematician who was appointed at the Hebrew University in 2015 and promoted to full professor in 2018. He became internationally known for his work in discrete geometry and combinatorics and received several major awards, including the European Prize in Combinatorics and the 2020 Prize of the European Mathematical Society.

He is no longer affiliated with the Hebrew University. University records now list him as a former faculty member, while academic sources identify him with the Institut de Mathématiques de Jussieu at Sorbonne Université in France.

The case has raised broader questions about the power imbalance between doctoral supervisors and students, the handling of sexual-harassment complaints within universities, and whether disciplinary sanctions are sufficient when a professor is found to have abused his authority over a vulnerable student.