Committee of Concerned Scientists

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.

An independent 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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Scholar Imprisoned in Belarus

May 19, 2011

CCS wrote a letter to the President of Belarus, protesting the imprisonment of Alyaksandr Fyaduta, a scholar and journalist.

Read the letter:

President Alyaksandr Lukashenka
Administratsia Prezidenta Respubliki Belarus
ul.Karla Marksa, 38
220016 Minsk
BELARUS

March 7, 2011

Dear President Lukashenka:

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 now in grave concern for Alyaksandr Fyaduta.

Dr. Fyaduta, a scholar, journalist and lecturer at the European Humanities University, is currently imprisoned and has not been treated for injuries reportedly sustained during the protest and his severe diabetic condition which requires daily medical care. According to reports, Dr. Fyaduta was arrested at his home on December 20, 2010, and has reportedly been charged with Article 293, mass riot, an accusation that stems from Prof. Fyaduta’s involvement in a peaceful protest that took place in Minsk, Belarus in the aftermath of the most recent presidential election. We understand that, since his arrest, he has been held in custody without access to legal counsel or to medical care.

Most alarmingly, we are concerned about the lack of treatment of the injuries Dr. Fyaduta reportedly sustained during the protest and of his severe diabetic condition, which requires daily medical care. In light of this, his detention without access to counsel or adequate medical support would appear to constitute a reckless disregard of his health and well being. This suggests disregard of international standards of due process, fair trial and detention as guaranteed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Belarus is signatory.

We respectfully urge you to ensure that Belarus’ obligations under international law are upheld with regard to Dr. Fyaduta, and that you intervene to ensure his well-being We urge you to intervene to ensure his well-being pending his earliest release, including ensuring immediate and regular access to family, to legal counsel of his choosing and to medical treatment.

Sincerely yours,

Joel L. Lebowitz
Paul H. Plotz
Walter Reich
Co-chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists

Cc:
Ambassador Oleg Kravchenko
Embassy of the Republic of Belarus
1619 New Hampshire Ave NW
Washington, DC 20009, USA
Fax: +1 202 986 1805
Email: usa@belarusembassy.org and
politics@belarusembassy.org

Assistant Secretary Philip H. Gordon
Bureau ot European and Eurasian Affairs
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520, USA

Assistant Secretary Michael H. Posner
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520, USA

Filed Under: Belarus Tagged With: Academics

Who We Are

Co-chairs

Joel L. Lebowitz, Rutgers University

Paul H. Plotz, M.D., Washington, DC

Walter Reich, George Washington University

Eugene Chudnovsky, Lehman College

Alexander Greer, Brooklyn College

Vice-chairs

Astronomy – Arno Penzias, New Enterprises Associates*

Biology – Max E. Gottesman, Columbia University

Chemistry – Zafra Lerman, MIMSAD Inc.

Computer Science – Rachelle Heller, The George Washington University

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

Engineering – Philip Sarachik, NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering

Mathematics – Simon Levin, Princeton University

Medical Sciences – J. Joseph Blum, Duke University

Honorary Board Members

Nancy Andrews, Duke University

David Baltimore, California Institute of Technology*

Alan J. Bard, University of Texas

Jacob Bigeleisen (deceased), SUNY, Stony Brook

Raoul Bott (deceased), Harvard University

Owen Chamberlain (deceased), University of California, Berkeley

Stanley Deser, Brandeis University

Edward Gerjuoy, University of Pittsburg

David Gross, (2004 Nobel Prize in Physics), Kavil Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara*

Pierre Hohenberg (deceased), New York University

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

James Langer, University of California, Santa Barbara

Peter Lax, New York University

Louis Nirenberg, New York University

Marshall Nirenberg (deceased), National Institutes of Health*

Honorary Board Members

John C. Polanyi, University of Toronto*

Stuart Rice, University of Chicago

Sir Richard J. Roberts, (1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology & Medicine), New England Biolabs*

Myriam Sarachick, City College of New York

Harold Scheraga, Cornell University

Sylvan Schweber (deceased), Brandeis University

Maxine Singer, Carnegie Institution of Washington

Alfred I. Tauber, Boston University

Steven Weinberg, University of Texas, Austin*

Myrna Weissman, Columbia University

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

* Nobel laureate

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Committee of Concerned Scientists

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