On January 19, 2012, Professor Masaud Jahromi of Bahrain met with the Public Prosecutor before the verdict for his trial was issued. The Public Prosecutor ordered that the charges be dropped since it was related to “freedom of speech” which is consistent with the report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI). … continue reading >>
Good News
CCS Welcomes the Release of Vietnamese Professor, Pham Minh Hoang
January 26, 2012
We welcome the release from prison of Vietnamese professor of mathematics, Pham Minh Hoang on January 13, 2012. CCS was among the many human rights groups and academic associations advocating for Professor Hoang’s release. Pham Minh Hoang, a professor of mathematics and blogger in Vietnam, was arrested on August 13, 2010 and was later convicted of holding membership in Viet Tan, a banned political group. He was released on January 13, 2012 … continue reading >>
CCS Welcomes Release of Professor Nasser Bin Ghaith of the UAE
November 29, 2011
CCS was among the many human rights groups and academic associations advocating for Professor bin Ghaith, a lecturer of economics at the Abu Dhabi branch of the Paris-based Sorbonne University in the United Arab Emirates, who was detained in April in Dubai and charged for being a threat to public security, undermining public order, insulting the government and opposing the government system. The charges appeared to be based on his peaceful criticism of the government of the United Arab Emirates … continue reading >>
AFP: Vietnam cuts jail term of French-Vietnamese blogger
November 29, 2011
HANOI — A Vietnamese court on Tuesday halved the jail sentence of a French-Vietnamese blogger whose release has been sought by Paris and the European Union, his lawyer said.
Pham Minh Hoang, who has dual nationality, will be freed on January 13 after serving a 17-month sentence for attempted subversion but will still have to serve three years’ house arrest, lawyer Tran Vu Hai told AFP.
Hai had hoped for greater leniency at the hearing, which lasted less than half a day in Ho Chi Minh City. … continue reading >>
Iranian Physician Released From Prison
September 6, 2011
Arash Alaei, a pioneering HIV and AIDS doctor, has been released from an Iranian prison, his family said Sunday Aug. 28. Both he and his brother, Kamiar Alaei, who is also a doctor, were arrested in 2008. They were charged with “communication with an enemy government” and for trying to “overthrow the government,” according to Kamiar. … continue reading >>
Chinese Dissident Released from Prison
June 27, 2011
Hu Jia in April 2010
Hu Jia, a prominent Chinese dissident whose activism on behalf of the environment and AIDS sufferers landed him in prison for the last three and a half years, was released in the pre-dawn hours Sunday, June 18, and returned to his home in Beijing.
CCS has been advocating for his release, supporting his family”s request for medical parole, in view of Hu Jia’s serious liver ailment.
Professor Released from Iranian Prison
June 27, 2011
Professor Emadeddin Baghi
CCS also welcomed the release of Professor Emadeddin Baghi, who was released after serving two concurrent one-year jail sentences for “propaganda against the state”. One related to his founding of the Association to Defend Prisoners’ Rights and the other to an interview broadcast by the BBC together with the late government critic Grand Ayatollah Hosseinali-Monatazeri. … continue reading >>
Belarusian Professor sentenced to probation
June 16, 2011
Alexandr Feduta
Aleksandr Feduta, a EHU (European Humanities University) lecturer and journalist, was arrested with hundreds of other opposition activists, including 11 EHU students, in the aftermath of the contested Belarusian presidential election on 19 December 2010. … continue reading >>
Acquitted Colombian professor to resume teaching
June 16, 2011
Professor Miguel Angel Beltran. Photo: TEU
Miguel Ángel Beltrán Villegas, the Colombian professor who was arrested in Mexico in 2009 and acquitted on Friday of accusations of being a member of the FARC, announced Wednesday he will resume teaching.
A city judge decided Friday that Beltrán would be allowed to go free, “given the inconsistencies (of the evidence),” … continue reading >>
Igor Sutyagin Released
September 4, 2010
Igor Sutyagin
We welcomed the release of Dr. Igor Sutyagin, the Russian academic, who served more than a decade in prison in Siberia on espionage charges that we protested starting in 2001 as unfounded. Sutyagin was an arms control researcher for a British company to which he provided published and openly available information. … continue reading >>
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