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An international non-profit organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars dedicated to protecting the human rights and scientific freedom of our colleagues around the world.

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CCS Urges Putin to Release Student Activist

June 26, 2013

CCS wrote a letter to Russian president Vladimir Putin in support of Yaroslav Belousov, a political science student who was arrested in June of 2012. His trial started recently in Moscow.

According to press reports, Belusov was arrested while participating in an authorized protest demonstration. He has been in jail for a year and could be convicted of a sentence of up to 12 years. According to video of the demonstration, as reported in the New York Times, Belousov threw a lemon at an officer, rather than rocks or asphalt pieces, as is being charged. He is 21, the father of a two-year old, and had no previous criminal record.

President Vladimir Putin
Of the Russian Federation
The Kremlin
Moscow, Russian Federation

June 12, 2013

Dear President Putin:

We are an independent organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars devoted to the protection and advancement of human rights and scientific freedom for colleagues all over the world. We write to you now in support of Yaroslav B. Belousov, a political science student, arrested in June of 2012 , whose trial started recently in Moscow.

Belousov, according to press reports, was participating in an authorized protest demonstration. He has been in jail for a year and he could be convicted of a sentence of up to 12 years. According to videos of the demonstration, as reported in the New York Times, Belousov threw a lemon at an officer, rather than rocks or asphalt pieces, as is being charged. He is 21, the father of a two-year old, and had no previous criminal record.

A lawyer representing Belousov, Dmitry V. Agranovsky, was quoted as follows: “It’s not normal or regular that these [defendants] have been held for about a year… But if the case touches on politics … then it’s normal practice to be harsher toward them.” Agranovsky said that the charges against Belousov were based on the testimony of a single police officer who claimed to be injured by a small yellow object thrown at his chest. A riot police officer is protected by a vest that cannot be penetrated easily by a lemon, Agranovsky said, and he did not believe that the officer had been injured.

We believe that the actions of the authorities are designed to deter and intimidate Belousov from engaging in protests against actions that he believes violate Russian law. His expression of opinion and the right to due process of law are guaranteed under the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, to which Russia is a signatory.

We urge you to investigate the circumstances of this cases and thoroughly address the conduct of the local authorities involved, especially the long detention without bail, and the possibility of a sentence not based on substantial evidence. Furthermore, we request that Belousov be released immediately on bail and be afforded the full complement of rights provided under the Russian judicial system and as contemplated by the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights.

Sincerely yours,

Eugene Chudnovsky
Alexander Greer
Joel Lebowitz
Walter Reich
Paul Plotz

Co-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists

Copies to:

Mr. Chaika Yuri Yakovlevich, Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation

Mr. Vladimir Lukin, Ombudsman of the Russian Federation

H.E. Ambassador Sergey I. Kislyak, Embassy of the Russian Federation to the US

H.E. Ambassador Michael McFaul, US Embassy to the Russian Federation

The Hon. John F. Kerry, Secretary of State of the US

Related articles
  • Trial Sends Warning to Rank-and-File Putin Foes (nytimes.com)
  • Russian Protesters in Action – Video Feature (nytimes.com)

Filed Under: Russia Tagged With: Academics, Human Rights, Moscow, Russia

Who We Are

Co-chairs

Joel L. Lebowitz, Rutgers University

Walter Reich, George Washington University

Eugene Chudnovsky, Lehman College

Alexander Greer, Brooklyn College

Vice-chairs

Biology – Max E. Gottesman, Columbia University

Chemistry – Zafra Lerman, MIMSAD Inc.

Computer Science – Rachelle Heller, The George Washington University

Engineering – Philip Sarachik, NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering

Computer Science – Jack Minker, University of Maryland, College Park

Mathematics – Simon Levin, Princeton University

Honorary Board Members

Nancy Andrews, Duke University

Myles Axton, Chief Editor, Genetics and Genomics Next

David Baltimore, California Institute of Technology*

Alan J. Bard, University of Texas

David Gross, University of California, Santa Barbara*

James Langer, University of California, Santa Barbara

Peter Lax, New York University

Giorgio Parisi, Roma I University La Sapienza

John C. Polanyi, University of Toronto*

Stuart Rice, University of Chicago

Sir Richard J. Roberts, New England Biolabs*

Maxine Singer, Carnegie Institution of Washington

Alfred I. Tauber, Boston University

Myrna Weissman, Columbia University

Former Honorary Board Members

Jacob Bigeleisen (deceased), SUNY, Stony Brook

Raoul Bott (deseased) Harvard University

Owen Chamberlain (deceased), University of California, Berkeley

Stanley Deser (deceased), Brandeis University

Edward Gerjuoy (deceased), University of Pittsburgh

Pierre Hohenberg (deceased), New York University

Walter Kohn (deceased), University of California, Santa Barbara*

Louis Nirenberg (deceased), New York University

Marshall Nirenberg (deceased), National Institutes of Health*

Myriam Sarachick (deceased), City College of New York

Harold Scheraga (deceased), Cornell University

Sylvan Schweber (deceased), Brandeis University

Steven Weinberg (deceased), University of Texas, Austin*

Rosalyn S. Yalow (deceased), Mount Sinai School of Medicine*

* Nobel laureate

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