The influential citation database Scopus has delisted three journals from Iraq in a blow to recent government efforts to boost the standing of the country’s scholarly publications. One of the delisted journals, the Medical Journal of Babylon, a publication of the University of Babylon in Hilla, was coercing authors to cite its articles.

Elsevier also removed from its database the Diyala Journal of Medicine and the Iraqi Journal of Agricultural Sciences. Meanwhile, Clarivate has dropped the Iraqi Journal of Agricultural Sciences from its Master Journal List, according to a November 17, 2025 update from the company.

The chief editorial adviser of the Medical Journal of Babylon, Alaa H. Al-Charrakh lashed out in a November 4, 2025 post on Facebook at the anonymous people who alerted Scopus and Retraction Watch to their concerns about academic publishing in Iraq. He also said the whistleblowers should be brought to Iraq and held responsible for harming “Iraq’s academic reputation and its prominent position among regional and international countries.”

Source https://retractionwatch.com/2025/12/01/iraqi-journals-coercion-delisted-scopus-web-of-science-citation-databases/

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