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Dr. Barghouthi, Palestinian Professor, Awaiting Hearing that is Continually Re-Scheduled. Should be Charged or Released

September 22, 2020

September 22, 2020

Benjamin Netanyahu
Prime Minister
Kiryat Ben Gurion, Building C
Jerusalem 91950, Israel

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 colleagues all over the world.

We are writing, again, to express our concern for Dr. Imad Barghouthi, a Palestinian Astrophysicist and Professor at al-Quds University. He has been jailed without charge 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 last wrote to you about Dr. Barghouthi on August 3. One month later, on September 2, a court ordered that he be released on bail, but this order was overridden by the Israeli military, which instead directed that Dr. Barghouthi be held without charge under “administrative detention” until November 15.

We are concerned about the violation of Barghouthi’s right to a fair legal process. Periods of “administrative detention”, without a charge or trial, are a fundamental violation of one of the most basic of human rights – the right not to be subjected to arbitrary or prolonged detention without charge. This is a right protected under Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which your government signed in 1991.

As we wrote in August, 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 asking that you review Dr. Barghouthi’s case and ask that he be released if not charged with a legitimate criminal offense.

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

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

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

Filed Under: CCS Cases, Highlights, Israel Tagged With: Administrative Detention, Al-Quds University, Astrophysicist, Imad Barghouthi, Palestinian, Palestinian Professor

Who We Are

Co-chairs

Joel L. Lebowitz, Rutgers University

Walter Reich, George Washington University

Eugene Chudnovsky, Lehman College

Alexander Greer, Brooklyn College

Vice-chairs

Biology – Max E. Gottesman, Columbia University

Chemistry – Zafra Lerman, MIMSAD Inc.

Computer Science – Rachelle Heller, The George Washington University

Engineering – Philip Sarachik, NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering

Computer Science – Jack Minker, University of Maryland, College Park

Mathematics – Simon Levin, Princeton University

Honorary Board Members

Nancy Andrews, Duke University

Myles Axton, Chief Editor, Genetics and Genomics Next

David Baltimore, California Institute of Technology*

Alan J. Bard, University of Texas

David Gross, University of California, Santa Barbara*

James Langer, University of California, Santa Barbara

Peter Lax, New York University

Giorgio Parisi, Roma I University La Sapienza

John C. Polanyi, University of Toronto*

Stuart Rice, University of Chicago

Sir Richard J. Roberts, New England Biolabs*

Maxine Singer, Carnegie Institution of Washington

Alfred I. Tauber, Boston University

Myrna Weissman, Columbia University

Former Honorary Board Members

Jacob Bigeleisen (deceased), SUNY, Stony Brook

Raoul Bott (deseased) Harvard University

Owen Chamberlain (deceased), University of California, Berkeley

Stanley Deser (deceased), Brandeis University

Edward Gerjuoy (deceased), University of Pittsburgh

Pierre Hohenberg (deceased), New York University

Walter Kohn (deceased), University of California, Santa Barbara*

Louis Nirenberg (deceased), New York University

Marshall Nirenberg (deceased), National Institutes of Health*

Myriam Sarachick (deceased), City College of New York

Harold Scheraga (deceased), Cornell University

Sylvan Schweber (deceased), Brandeis University

Steven Weinberg (deceased), University of Texas, Austin*

Rosalyn S. Yalow (deceased), Mount Sinai School of Medicine*

* Nobel laureate

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