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.
According to a recent article in the publication Nature, Omid Kokabee, the Iranian graduate student in physics at the University of Texas/Austin who is in jail in Teheran, released two open letters in which he states that Iranian authorities pressured him to participate in military projects possibly of involving nuclear weapons, and that his imprisonment and sentence are punishments for his … continue reading >>
CCS has received a number of complaints concerning imprisonment and prosecution of Turkish academics that seem to lack due process and regard for freedom of expression in each case. Professors Haberal and Hilmioglu. still in jail and in ill health, have been threatened with life sentences. Pinar Selek, a writer and scholar, was imprisoned, tortured and sentenced in absentia to aggravated life … continue reading >>
US Ambassador Francis J. Ricciardone, Jr. commented on the Turkish court system during an interview with Turkish journalists this week. He specifically mentioned the Kemal Gürüz case. See the last four paragraphs of the following article: Turkey, US to step up legal case against terror (Hurriyet Daily News) As reported in the Hurriyet Daily News, "Ricciardone criticized the fact that in … continue reading >>
On the second anniversary of the arrest of Omid Kokabee, Iranian physics graduate student at Texas University/Austin, CCS conveys to Iranian authorities the world-wide concern expressed about a ten-year prison sentence for Kokabee. Although charges of espionage were neither substantiated or defended by counsel in a fair trial, this severe sentence has been upheld by an Iranian appeals court. … continue reading >>
An Egyptian computer science graduate and blogger, Alber Saber, downloaded a video considered offensive to Muslims. When neighbors threatened him and his family, Cairo police responded by searching his computer and arresting him for blasphemy. A court sentenced Saber to three years in jail. CCS protested the failure to respect his right of expression and the continued lack of police protection for … continue reading >>
An appeal hearing on January 7, 2013 in the case of engineer and human rights activist Dr. Abduljalil Al-Singace would give Bahraini authorities a chance to reverse a life sentence that is based solely on his expression of opinion, according to CCS and other human rights groups that have been advocating for Al-Singace since his arrest in 2011. … continue reading >>
The Committee of Concerned Scientists wrote on behalf of Russian zoologist and environmental activist Suren Gazaryan and geologist Evgeny Vitishenko in May 2012 to protest criminal charges designed to retaliate for environmental inspections. Those charges resulted in a three-year suspended sentence for Dr. Gazaryan. In August 2012, Dr. Gazaryan was charged with attempted murder of a security … continue reading >>
Dr. Jack Minker, CCS Vice-Chair for Computer Science and University of Maryland Professor Emeritus, gave a talk about his recently published memoir, Scientific Freedom & Human Rights: Scientists of Conscience During the Cold War, at the University of Maryland on October 3. Minker's book documents his work in human rights with CCS and other human rights organizations from 1972 to the … continue reading >>
On September 2, 2012, Professor Halil Kemal Gürüz's family reported that he had suffered chest pains in his prison cell. He was transferred to intensive care in a hospital and an angiography was performed for blockage of one of his arteries. He is now back in prison. We are deeply concerned that continued imprisonment presents serious threats to a man of his age and condition. We urge … continue reading >>
According to an August 21 press statement by Victoria Nuland of the US Department of State, 36 universities in Iran have banned women from studying in 77 critical fields, including nuclear physics, computer science, engineering and education. The Committee of Concerned Scientists urges the Iranian government to lift these restrictions. … continue reading >>
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In July, we protested the arrest of one of Turkey’s most prominent academic reformers, Kemal Gürüz, who was arrested and jailed for the second … continue reading >>
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