Committee of Concerned Scientists
We are scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars dedicated to protecting the human rights and scientific freedom of colleagues around the world.
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 >>
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 >>
Dr. Binayak Sen, by ViBGYOR Film Collective, via Wikimedia Commons
The Supreme Court of India granted bail in April, 2011 to Dr. Binayak Sen, observing that no case of sedition was made out against the human rights activist, who was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by a trial court in Chhattisgarh State. CCS had advocated on behalf of Dr. Sen, who had set up clinics for impoverished and minority people in his province. … continue reading >>
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 >>
Darsi Ferrer, the director of the Juan Bruno Zayas Health and Human Rights Centre, was convicted on 22 June on spurious charges of receiving illegally obtained goods and “violence or intimidation against a state official” and sentenced to one year’s imprisonment and three months’ “correctional work” outside the prison. As he had already been imprisoned for almost a year he was immediately released. … continue reading >>
Professor Suthachai Yimprasert, assistant professor at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, who was arrested on May 24, sent to a provincial army camp, and went on a hunger strike, was released on May 31 in Bangkok, according to Thai sources, before we had a chance to write on his behalf.
Iranian-American Sociologist Kian Tajbakhsh
Iranian-American sociologist Kian Tajbakhsh was able to celebrate the Persian New Year with his family on March 13 and on April 3 allowed to stay out of Evin prison longer. Tajbakhsh, who was sentenced to 15 years for espionage, had to post bail in the amount of $800,000. His sentence has been reduced to five years by an Iranian court of appeals.
CCS and many human rights organizations and academics around the world advocated for his release. The State Department last month told … continue reading >>
Dr. Matrouk al-Faleh
Dr. Matrouk al-Faleh, a 55-year-old Saudi political scientist and human rights advocate, was released from prison on January 10, 2009, after being held for more than seven months without charges. … continue reading >>
Fang Li Zhi
When the Chinese astrophysicist Fang Li Zhi fell from grace in 1988 for allegedly fomenting student unrest, CCS sprang into action.
We sent letters protesting restrictions placed on his travel for participation in scientific exchanges abroad and on contacts with his students at home. A member of our National Board visited him in Beijing to ascertain strategies he wanted pursued. At several scientific meetings, we circulated petitions on his behalf. … continue reading >>
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