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.

Economist Co-founder of Human Rights Association Sentenced to 10 years for Sedition Against Saudi Arabia

Mohammed al-Qathani, an economics professor calling for implementation of rights outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was sentenced to 10 years in jail in 2013. CCS protested conviction based on peaceful expression of opinion and freedom of association and asked for his release.

His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud
Ministry of the Interior
P.O. Box 2933, Airport Road
Riyadh 11134, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

February 9, 2015

Your Excellency:

We are writing now in concern for Mohammad Al-Qathani.

Al-Qahtani was an economics professor who co-founded the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association that calls for the implementation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia of the principles outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. On March 9, 2013, after a 10 year travel ban that had been imposed on Al-Qathani, the Criminal Court of Riyadh convicted him of “planting seeds of sedition, breaking allegiance with the ruler and defaming the judiciary” and “turning international organizations against the Kingdom. The court handed down a 10-year prison sentence for these charges.

It would appear that Al-Qathani was convicted for peaceful expressions of opinion and for associating with others concerned with human rights in Saudi Arabia. Peaceful promotion of human rights in any country benefits the governments and the whole population and should not be labeled as seditious, unpatriotic, or defamatory.

We respectfully urge you to direct a re-examination of these proceedings for consistency with Saudi Arabia’s obligations under international law, in particular internationally recognized standards of due process, fair trial and respect for free expression and freedom of association. We urge you to withdraw or set aside Al-Qahtani’s jail sentence as inconsistent with these universal human rights.

Sincerely,

Joel L. Lebowitz, Paul H. Plotz, Walter Reich,
Eugene M. Chudnovsky, Alexander Greer

Co-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists

Copies to:

Scholars at Risk

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

c/o Alexandra R. Bender, Executive Director
P.O. Box 4525
Easton, PA 18043
Phone: (570) 994-2093
abender@concernedscientists.org