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.

Russian Librarian Placed Under House Arrest for Allegedly “inciting hatred”

Natalia Sharina, a Russian librarian, was placed under house arrest for allegedly “inciting hatred” because the library contained books banned under Russian anti-extremism laws. Ms. Sharina was detained and may be tried as an attempt to intimidate librarians.

The Committee of Concerned Scientists has written to President Putin requesting that he take all steps necessary to ensure that charges be dropped and that she be released and any items confiscated be returned to her.

December 16, 2015

Mr. Vladimir Putin
President of the Russian Federation
The Kremlin
23, Ilyinka Street
Moscow, 103132
Russian Federation

Dear President Putin:

We are writing on behalf of the Committee of Concerned Scientists, 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 with great concern for Natalia Sharina, a 58-year old Director of the Library of Ukrainian Literature, a scholarly institution based in and partially funded by the City of Moscow.

On October 30, Ms. Sharina was placed under house arrest pending trial for “inciting hatred” because the library allegedly contained books banned under Russia’s anti-extremism laws. She is appealing her arrest, but could face up to 5 years in prison if convicted of permitting access to books by authors like Ukrainian ultra-nationalist writer, Dmytro Korchynsky. She, and others, claim the books in question were planted. She argued to a courtroom that “books cannot constitute extremism, because in my opinion extremism is an action.”

On October 28, Natalia Sharina was detained as police, according to Human Rights Watch, searched her apartment, raided the library and seized books and documents. We are concerned that the detention and possible trial of Ms. Sharina may be part of a broader attempt to intimidate librarians in Russia. On October 29th the Central Librarian Directorate reportedly ordered Moscow’s First Popular Scientific Library to remove a prominent academic study on nationalist movements in Central Asia. And a Moscow school teacher told HRW that the school’s librarian was told to remove all politically sensitive items.

A librarian is an essential citizen of the world of scholars and scientists. Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Russia is a state party, protects libraries and librarians by guaranteeing the right to receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds. No librarian should be detained or harassed or put on trial for exercising that right on behalf of herself and her community. We urge you to take all steps necessary to ensure that charges against Natalia Sharina be dropped and that she be immediately and unconditionally released from house arrest and all materials confiscated be returned to her institution.

Sincerely,

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

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

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