Palestinian Professor Detained by Israel Again Without Charges

August 2, 2020

August 3, 2020

Benjamin Netanyahu
Prime Minister
The Prime Minister’s Office, Public Enquiries Department, Kiryat Ben Gurion, Building C, Jerusalem 91950, Israel
Tel: 03-6109898
Fax: 02-5605000

Dear Prime Minister Netanyahu:

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 our colleagues all over the world.

We are writing to express our continued concern for Dr. Imad Barghouthi, an internationally respected Palestinian Astrophysicist and professor at al-Quds University, who has been jailed without a charge and detained since his arrest on July 16 at a checkpoint near Jerusalem. This is the third time in six years that Dr. Barghouthi has been arrested, and he has, in the past, been held for months without charge in “administrative detention”.

We strongly object to detaining Dr. Barghouthi with no charges being presented against him.

We believe this current detention of Dr. Barghouthi is related to some of his posts on Facebook, which should not be grounds for any kind of legal action. We write to request that you review this case and that Dr. Barghouti be immediately and unconditionally released if he is not charged with a legitimate criminal offense. He is scheduled to appear in court today – Monday August 3rd. We ask that you please contact the court and encourage his release.

We thank you for your attention to this important matter, and look forward to receiving your response.

Sincerely,

cc:

Ayelet Shaked
Minister of Justice
29 Salah al-Din Street
Jerusalem 91010, Israel
Fax: +972 2 640 8402 E
mail: sar@justice.gov.il

Ron Dermer
Ambassador
Embassy of Israel
3514 International Drive, NW
Washington, DC 20008
T: 202.364.5500 | F: 1 202 364 5607
Email: info@washington.mfa.gov.il

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

Who We Are

Co-chairs

Vice-chairs

Honorary Board Members

Honorary Board Members

Committee of Concerned Scientists