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 >>
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 Statement of Shock at Death of Cuban Activist Wilmar Villar Mendoza After Hunger Strike in Jail
January 26, 2012
The Committee of Concerned Scientists expresses its shock and sadness at the death of Wilmar Villar Mendoza, a 31-year old member of the human rights group UMPACU (Union Patriotica de Cuba). Villar was beaten and arrested following a peaceful protest in Contramaestre on November 14, 2011, and sentenced to four years in prison. He began a hunger strike in the Prison of Aguadores on November 25, 2011, to protest the false accusations that led to incarceration, and died on January 18, 2012, after multiple organ failure and generalized sepsis. … continue reading >>
CCS Cites Recent Report of Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry in Dr. Jahromi’s Case
January 13, 2012
In urging Bahraini authorities to provide due process and reinstatement to academic Masaud Jahromi, CCS relied on the Dec. 10, 2011 report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry. In addition to many other findings of violations of human rights by the Government in connection with recent protests, the Commission cited violations of free speech at Bahrain’s Universities. … continue reading >>
Student Leader in Swaziland Arrested for Demonstrating
December 16, 2011
Maxwell Dlamini, President of the National Union of Students of Swaziland, was reported arrested and possibly tortured, in violation of international human rights conventions agreed to by his country’s government. CCS calls for his release. … continue reading >>
Arrest of Professor Ersanli on Terrorist Charges Appears to be Based on Guilt by Association
December 8, 2011
CCS wrote to the president of Turkey, Abdullah Güll, asking him to intervene in the case of Dr. Büsra Ersanlı, a professor who is also a member of a political party that is allegedly linked by association to the Kurdistan Workers Party, a banned party in Turkey. Dr. Ersanli denies this allegation. Absent any additional or contrary information, the facts appear to indicate that Professor Ersanlı was arrested and charged as a result of nonviolent expression of her political views. … continue reading >>
Award-Winning Chinese-American Engineer Continues to be Detained in China Long After He Was Acquitted of Charges
December 8, 2011
CCS protests the continued detention of Dr. Zicheng Hu, a Chinese-American engineer who has been unable to leave China since November 2008 when he went on a business trip to China. He served a 17 month prison sentence, was released without charges, but is unable to leave China. CCS urges the government of China to release him immediately. … 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 >>
Petition for the Release of Drs. Haberal and Hilmioglu from Prison in Turkey
November 7, 2011
Dr. Mehmet Haberal
We urge the signing of this petition for the release of Drs. Haberal and Hilmioglu for health reasons pending the outcome of their trials.
To: His Excellency Abdullah Gul, President of the Republic of Turkey
This petition is sponsored by the Committee of Concerned Scientists — 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. In October of 2009, we wrote in concern about Drs. Mehmet Haberal and 11 other doctors and academics under indictment in Turkey. To our relief, we have learned that most of the arrested academics have been released on bail. However, two of those on our list are still being held: Dr. Mehmet Haberal, the rector of Baskent University in Ankara, who pioneered transplant surgery in Turkey, and Dr. Fatih Hilmioglu, a gastroenterologist, … continue reading >>
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