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.

Nobel Peace Prize nominee in critical condition following thirty years of confinement and mistreatment by authorities

Hada, an ethnic Mongolian dissident and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, was recently rushed to emergency treatment due to serious health concerns. In 1995, Hada was arrested for his political activism while advocating on behalf of ethnic Mongolian herders and has been inhumanely treated in the years since. CCS strongly urges his release from detention and his reunion with his family.

RFA: Ethnic Mongolian dissident Hada rushed to hospital from house arrest

February 24, 2025

President Xi Jinping
President of the People’s Republic of China
Zhongnanhai
Xichangan’jie
Xichangqu, Beiging Shi 100017
The People’s Republic of China

Dear President Xi Jinping,

The Committee of Concerned Scientists is an independent organization of scientists, physicians, engineers, and scholars devoted to protecting and advancing human rights and scientific freedom for colleagues worldwide.

We are writing in regard to Hada, an ethnic Mongolian dissident and Nobel Peace Prize nominee who was recently rushed to emergency treatment due to serious health concerns. In 1995, Hada was arrested for his political activism while advocating on behalf of ethnic Mongolian herders. Charged with alleged separatism and espionage, he served a 19-year jail term and has since been living under house arrest with extreme restrictions, including close police surveillance, a travel ban, and frozen bank accounts. He’s also been forced to live separately from his wife.

Hada’s initial arrest and subsequent detention have been conducted outside of the legal system, and his supposed confession to the charges was obtained under torture and drugs. The CCS is concerned that this arrest is a result of his peaceful advocacy, and that he has been treated inhumanely throughout the process.

Hada’s health has deteriorated severely in the thirty years since his arrest. His family reports that his condition is life-threatening due to organ failure, and police have prevented them from visiting him in the hospital. At this stage, Hada cannot be considered a danger to society. We strongly urge his release from detention and his reunion with his family.

Sincerely,

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

CC:
Marco Rubio
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520

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

Committee of Concerned Scientists

c/o Alexandra R. Bender, Executive Director
P.O. Box 273
Mountainhome, PA 18342
abender@concernedscientists.org