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.

Advocate for Uighur Minority in China Arrested, Taken to Undisclosed Location

Ilham Tohti

Professor Ilham Tohti. Photo by Voice of America via Wikimedia Commons

Dr. Ilham Tohti, a Professor of economics at the Central Minorities University in Beijing was arrested after a raid of his apartment and materials in it. He had been previously harassed and threatened, allegedly to stop him from talking to foreign journalists.

CCS wrote to Chinese authorities asking for Tohti to be treated with fairness and due process, including access to family and counsel.

President Xi Jinping
The State Council General Office 2
Fuyoujie, Xichengqu
Beijingshi 100017
People’s Republic of China

January 27, 2014

Your Excellency:

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 Ilham Tohti.

Dr. Tohti is a professor of economics at the Central Minorities University in Beijing and an advocate for the rights of the Chinese Uighur minority. We understands from media reports that on the afternoon of January 15, 2014, police reportedly raided Tohti’s family home, arrested him, seized computers, cell phones, passports, and other documents – including teaching materials and student essays – and then took Tohti to an undisclosed location. We also gather that Tohti is currently held incommunicado on unspecified charges. It is unclear whether he has access to legal counsel.

Tohti has previously been placed under house arrest by Chinese authorities, subjected to restrictions on academic travel, and interrogated by police in connection with his academic work. We understand that he has also recently reported to the media that police have harassed him, rammed his car, and threatened to kill his wife and children, allegedly in an effort to force him to stop speaking to foreign journalists. We have previously written to Chinese authorities to protest restrictions on Tohti’s travel to the United States, where he was invited as a visiting scholar to Indiana University. These recent actions appear to indicate that Tohti was arrested as a result of scholarly and nonviolent expressive activity, conduct that is expressly protected under international human rights instruments including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which China is a signatory.

We therefore respectfully urge you to investigate the situation, to explain publicly the circumstances of Tohti’s arrest and, pending his immediate release, to ensure that his case proceeds in a manner consistent with China’s obligations under international law, in particular internationally recognized standards of due process, fair trial, free expression and freedom of association. We also urge you, pending his release, to ensure Tohti’s well being in custody, including disclosure of his current location and access to counsel and family.

Sincerely,

Eugene Chudnovsky
Alexander Greer
Joel Lebowitz
Walter Reich
Paul Plotz

Co-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists

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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

Committee of Concerned Scientists
Public Affairs and Administrative Office
PO Box 3708
Silver Spring, MD 20918

Carol Valoris, Executive Director
(202) 812-8074
carolvaloris@concernedscientists.org