Dr. Masaud Jahromi, who has been accused of “participation in an unauthorized rally,” should not be suspended from his position at Ahlia University pending his trial, CCS said in a letter to the President of Ahlia University in Manama.
Read our letter:
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November 1, 2011
Professor Abdullah Y. Al-Hawaj
President, Ahlia University
P.O. Box 10878
1st Floor, Gosi Complex, Exhibitions Road
Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain
Email: aalhawaj@ahliauniversity.edu.bh
Fax: +973 17 290083_
Dear Dr. Al-Hawaj:
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 concern for Professor Masaud Jahromi.
Dr. Jahromi, as you know, is Chairman of the Department of Telecomunication Engineering at Ahlia University’s College of Mathematical Sciences and Information Technology. We understand that Professor Jahromi was arrested on April 14, 2011 and charged with “participation in an unauthorized rally.” Five months after his arrest, Dr. Jahromi was released on bail.
We also understand that Dr. Jahromi was suspended from his position at Ahlia University pending his trial and final verdict. This step has led to considerable financial hardship for Dr. Jahromi and has damaged his otherwise excellent reputation. His trial has been postponed several times and he has no way of knowing when he will be cleared from the charges brought against him. We have protested to the Bahraini authorities Dr. Jahromi’s arrest for exercising his right to free speech and the lack of due process he has been accorded so far, including denial of access to a lawyer, in violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Bahrain has acceded.
As fellow academics, we urge you to reconsider the decision to suspend Dr. Jahromi from his position and to reinstate him immediately. He appears to have committed no crime and should be presumed innocent until proven otherwise. We all have a stake in maintaining academic freedoms, including the right of free expression, at institutions of higher learning around the world.
Sincerely,
Eugene ChudnovskyAlexander Greer
Joel Lebowitz
Walter Reich
Paul Plotz
Co-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists
Copies to:
His Excellency Dr. Majid bin Ali Al-Naimi
Minister of Education
Ministry of Education Building
Al Istiklai Street,
PO Box 43, Isa Town Central
Kingdom of Bahrain
Professor M. Cherif Bassiouni
Commission Chair
Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI)
Email: outreach@bici.org.bh
Scholars at Risk
New York University
194 Mercer Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10012
Dr. Farook Y. Al=Moayyed
Chairman of the Arab Academy for Research and Studies
P.O. Box 10878
1st Floor, Gosi Complex, Exhibitions Rd.
Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain
Dr. Abdulrazak H. Al-qassim
Vice Chair of the Arab Academy for Research and Studies
P.O. Box 10878
1st Floor, Gosi Complex, Exhibitions Rd.
Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain