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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Serkan Golge and Ismail Kul Released But Still Not Home

December 24, 2019

Two American academics that were released from prison in Turkey, after being imprisoned for charges they did not commit, are still not allowed to depart Turkey to return home.  Serkan Golge, a former NASA scientist, and Ismail Kul, a professor at Widener College in Pennsylvania, have been released from prison but Turkish officials continue to withhold their passports and require them to report to the authorities on a regular basis, making it impossible for them to return to their homes in the United States.  CCS has written President Trump asking his assistance in getting these two scholars returned to their homes.

December 25, 2019

Donald J. Trump
President of the United States
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC  20500

Dear Mr. Trump:

The Committee of Concerned Scientists (“CCS”) 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.  For almost 50 years CCS has been helping persecuted scholars overcome injustice and return to their academic work.

We are writing at this time due to your successes in bringing home Americans who have been wrongfully detained in other countries, such as the recent arrangements allowing for Dr. Xiyue Wang’s release from prison and his return home from Iran.  Earlier in the year you were able to negotiate the release from prison for the NASA scientist who was confined in Turkey, Dr. Serkan Golge.  However, Dr. Golge has not been allowed to leave Turkey and return home.  His passport has not been returned to him and he is still on travel restrictions, required to report to the police weekly.

Additionally, there is another American Professor in Turkey who teaches Chemistry at Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania. He likewise has been released from prison, but not allowed to return home to the United States.  His name is Ismail Kul.

For both men the imprisonment and travel ban have taken a personal, professional and financial toll.  Professor Kul was arrested in 2016 and released in 2018; Dr. Golge was also arrested in 2016 and was released in 2019.  Neither are free to leave Turkey and return to their homes and jobs in the United States.

At this holiday time, we are asking that you, again, assist their families in helping them to return home.  They were both wrongfully accused, served a significant amount of time in prison for no reason and are still restricted in their ability to leave Turkey.  We implore you to assist them in any way possible so they may return to the United States and get back to their lives – lives which are productive and helpful to our citizens.

We look forward to your success with this matter.  We are certain that their families would be elated to see them deplane and have their feet on U.S. soil – finally.

We wish you great success in facilitating their immediate return.

Sincerely,

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

Co-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists

Cc:
Mike Pompeo, U.S. Department of State
U.S. Secretary of State
Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC  20520

Senator Benjamin L. Cardin
509 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC  20510

Senator Thomas R. Carper
513 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC  20510

Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr.
393 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC  20510

Senator Christopher A. Coons
218 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC  20510

Senator Patrick J. Toomey
248 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC  20510

Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon
1535 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC  20515

Ambassador David Satterfield
US Embassy – Ankara
110 Ataturk Boulevard
Kavaklıdere, 06100 Ankara – Turkey

Bill Richardson, Former Governor of New Mexico
216 Washington Avenue
Santa Fe, NM 87501

Mickey Bergman
Vice President of the Richardson Center for Global Engagement
216 Washington Ave. Suites 1 and 2
Santa Fe, NM 87501

Everett Price, Helsinki Commission
234 Ford House Office Building
441 2nd Street, SW
Washington, DC 20015

Filed Under: Annual Reports, CCS Board, CCS Cases, Highlights, North America Issues, Prominent Cases, Turkey Tagged With: Academics, American Citizens, Ismail Kul, Serkan Golge, Turkey

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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FURTHER DIRECTIONS

Committee of Concerned Scientists
Public Affairs and Administrative Office
PO Box 3708
Silver Spring, MD 20918

Carol Valoris, Executive Director
(202) 812-8074
[email protected]

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