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.

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A Doctoral Student in Finance at the University of Liege in Belgium Arrested in Iran for Communicating with a Hostile Government

August 5, 2017

Hamid Babaei, a doctoral student currently serving a 6-year sentence at Evin Prison has deteriorating health conditions.  He suffers from panic disorders and has severe gum disease.  Mr. Babaei has been sentenced for “acting against national security by communicating with a hostile government.”  This was the acceptance of his scholarship.  CCS has written the Ayatollah requesting that he review Mr. Babaei’s case and release him.

 

August 5, 2017

Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei
Leader of the Islamic Republic
The Office of the Supreme Leader
Islamic Republic Street –
End of Shahid Keshvar Doust Street
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

Your Excellency:

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 out of concern for Hamid Babaei, a doctoral student currently serving a 6-year sentence at Evin Prison whose health is deteriorating. Mr. Babaei, a finance student at the University of Liege in Belgium, was sentenced in December 2013 for “acting against national security by communicating with a hostile government”, a charge based on the sources of his scholarship funding. We would ask that you review this case to determine if Mr. Babaei’s case can be reconsidered and he be released.

Mr. Babaei is, also, suffering from deteriorating health problems.  Iran is required by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), of which they are a signatory, to provide adequate medical care for those in its prisons.  Prior to and during his imprisonment, Hamid Babaei has suffered from panic attacks. Additionally, he has contracted major dental problems, including severe gum disease –  but has been prohibited from seeing a dentist.

We write today to urge you to ensure that this unacceptable situation does not continue, and that Mr. Babaei is afforded the adequate medical care that is his right. We suggest that you reconsider and reduce Mr. Babaei’s sentence on humanitarian grounds and release him immediately.  If he is to remain in custody he must still be given access to appropriate medical treatment.

We appreciate your immediate attention to this important matter and look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,
Joel L. Lebowitz, Paul H. Plotz, Walter Reich, Eugene M. Chudnovsky, Alexander Greer
Co-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists

Cc:
Hassan Rouhani
President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
The Presidency
Pasteur Street, Pasteur Square
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani
Head of the Judiciary
c/o Public Relations Office
Number 4, Deadend of 1 Azizi
Above Pasteur Intersection
Vali Asr Street
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of
Iran to the United Nations
622 Third Avenue
34th Floor
New York, NY 10017

Filed Under: CCS Cases, Iran Tagged With: Academic, Belgium, Finance Student, Hamid Babaei, ICCPR, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, scholar, University of Liege

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

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