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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Letters to the EU and Iran in Support of Dr. Rafiee-Fanood

March 29, 2016

Mohammad Hossein Rafiee Fanood, a retired chemist, imprisoned in Iran

Photo: Fanood~enwiki via Wikimedia Commons

CCS has written both the President of Iran and the High Representative of the European Union on behalf of Dr. Mohammad Hossein Rafiee-Fanood, a retired professor of chemistry who has been imprisoned in Iran for peacefully expressing his political views. Rafiee was arrested in June 2015 without a court order or justification.

Dr. Rafiee’s conviction and six-year prison sentence has been upheld by an appeals court in Iran. CCS has written requesting that Iran honor its commitment to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and release Dr. Rafiee as well as to assure that he will receive appropriate medical care. We have asked that the European Union intercede and assist in Dr. Rafiee’s situation.

March 29, 2016

The Honorable Federica Mogherini
High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs
and Security Policy
European Commission
Rue de la Loi / Wetstraat 200
1049 1049 Brussels
Belgium
Email: federica.mogherini@ec.europa.eu

Your Excellency:

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, wishes to bring to your attention our extreme concern on behalf of our colleague Dr. Mohammad Hossein Rafiee-Fanood, a 71-year-old retired Chemistry professor who was imprisoned in harsh conditions in Iran merely for expressing his political views in a peaceful and legal manner.

According to information CCS received from the American Chemical Society, Dr. Rafiee was convicted and given a six-year prison sentence for his membership in a banned political group and for giving interviews to media outlets considered to be “against the state”. This conviction and sentence were recently upheld by an appeals court.

As you know, the right to freely associate and to freely express one’s beliefs is protected by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the Islamic Republic of Iran has been a signatory state since 1975, and we have respectfully urged the government of Iran to see that Dr. Rafiee is immediately and unconditionally released.

We write to bring this case to your attention, and to urge you to ensure that the European Union calls on the Islamic Republic of Iran to fulfill its human rights treaty obligations by releasing Dr. Rafiee without delay.

We also must express our serious concern for Dr. Rafiee’s health, as the extremely poor conditions of his detention in the notorious Evin Prison may amount to “ill-treatment” in violation of the United Nations “Mandela Rules” regarding the adequate treatment of prisoners.

We are aware of your vital role in negotiating the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the important agreement on Iran’s nuclear program. In fact, it is Dr. Rafiee’s support for those negotiations that led to his arrest and prosecution. We, therefore, wish to respectfully request that you now raise the case of Dr. Mohammad Hossein Rafiee-Fanood with Iranian officials in order to secure his release and to promote the human rights of scientists in Iran and around the world.

Thank you for your attention to our concern.

Sincerely,

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

Co-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists

March 29, 2016

Hasan Fereidun Ruhani
The President
The Islamic Republic of Iran
Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

Re: Professor Mohammad Hossein Rafiee Fanood, Ph.D.

Your Excellency:

The Committee of Concerned Scientists is 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 extreme concern on behalf of our colleague Dr. Mohammad Hossein Rafiee-Fanood, a 71-year-old retired Chemistry professor who was imprisoned under harsh conditions for expressing his political views in a peaceful and legal manner.

On January 27 of this year we wrote to you regarding Dr. Rafiee. Since that time, his conviction and six-year prison sentence has been upheld by an appeals court.

The right to freely express one’s beliefs is protected by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the Islamic Republic of Iran is a state party, so we respectfully reiterate our call for you to do everything in your power to see that Dr. Rafiee is immediately and unconditionally released.

We also must express our serious concern for Dr. Rafiee’s health, as the extremely poor conditions of his detention in Evin Prison may amount to “ill-treatment” in violation of the United Nations “Mandela Rules” regarding the adequate treatment of prisoners.

We urge you to fulfill the obligations of the Islamic Republic of Iran to uphold international law, respect the human rights of Dr. Rafiee, and release him without delay.

Sincerely,

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

Co-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists

Related articles
  • CCS Protests Arbitrary Arrest of Retired Tehran University Professor (concernedscientists.org)

Filed Under: Iran Tagged With: European Union, Evin Prison, Iran, Mohammad Hossein Rafiee Fanood

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

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