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.

Al-Halwachi Hearing on December 29th After Being Rescheduled for the 20th Time

Khalil al-Halwachi, a Bahrainian professor arrested in 2014, is scheduled to have a hearing today, after having it postponed for the 20th time.  CCS has requested that a representative of the U.S. Embassy be present to observe the trial and assure that he is granted due process and a proper trial.

December 27, 2016

Ambassador William Roebuck
United States Ambassador to the Kingdom of Bahrain
U.S. Embassy – Manama
Building 979, Road 331, Zinj
PO Box 26431
Manama – Kingdom of Bahrain

Dear Ambassador Roebuck:

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 are again writing out of concern for Khalil al-Halwachi, a 59-year old Bahraini electrical engineer and academic instructor who has been in prison since his arrest in early September, 2014. We initially wrote you on September 30, 2016 requesting that you send a representative of the United States embassy to Mr. al-Halwachi’s court hearing scheduled for October 20th. That hearing was postponed and reset for October 31st. That hearing, too, was rescheduled for this coming Thursday, December 29th (he has been subjected to 20 hearing cancellations). We are, now, writing to remind you of this hearing date; and again, requesting that you send a representative of the U.S. embassy to Mr. al-Halwachi’s court hearing to assure due process – that he have an attorney present, that he be able to meet with his attorney in advance, that he and the attorney be present together in the courtroom and that the hearing be completed fairly. Should this not happen we would request a statement to that effect be made by the Embassy.

Although he was arrested over two years ago, hearings in his case have repeatedly been delayed, and he remains imprisoned in Dry Dock Detention Center, in conditions reported as so harsh that he and others have gone on hunger strikes in protest.

If we can provide you further information, please let us know and we will do what we can to assist.

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
Public Affairs and Administrative Office
PO Box 3708
Silver Spring, MD 20918

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