Serkan Golge, the NASA scientist who was arrested in Turkey and was sentenced to seven years in prison on terrorism charges, was released on Wednesday evening, May 28, 2019. The scientist was arrested while on vacation in Turkey, visiting family in 2016. His parents confirmed that he is heading back to their home in Southern Turkey and has notified his wife and child. It is reported that the ... Continue Reading>>
Good News
A Very Merry Happy 85th Birthday to Our Very Dear Advisory Board Member, Myriam Sarachik
Myriam Sarachik, famous for her pioneering experiments on the Kondo effect, metal-insulator transitions and spin tunneling, turns 85. She has been an invaluable, long-time CCS Board Member devoted to the human rights of scientists. I encourage everybody to read Myriam’s short autobiography: Pushing Boundaries: My Personal and Scientific Journey. Deeply personal, it encompasses great events that ... Continue Reading>>
Death Sentence Against Ahmadreza Djalali Provisionally Suspended While Under Review By The Iranian Supreme Court
It was just announced in The Brussels Times that the death sentence against Iranian-Swedish Professor Ahmadreza Djalali has been provisionally suspended while under review by the Iranian Supreme Court. A Supreme Court judge is scheduled to review his case next month. Djalali's attorney, Zeinab Taheri, noted that the file is currently under investigation by a deputy prosecutor and his assistant ... Continue Reading>>
Stony Brook Professor Released in Cameroon
Patrice Nganang, a NY literature professor held in Cameroon for writing an article critical of the government has been released and expelled from the country. Dr. Nganang was freed from prison but told he was never to return to Cameroon, the country of his birth. ... Continue Reading>>
Dr. Sylvain Cappell, Advisory Board Member of CCS, Receives Prestigious Award
Dr. Sylvain Cappell, a member of the Advisory Board of the Committee of Concerned Scientists, and a world renowned mathematician, has been an active supporter of human rights for many years. We are delighted to congratulate him on receiving the prestigious Public Service Award from AMS. Award Announcement: Sylvain Cappell, Julius Silver Professor of Mathematics at New York University (NYU), ... Continue Reading>>
2018 Andrei Sakharov Prize Recipient: Narges Mohammadi
Sitting in Evin Prison in Iran is this year's Andrei Sakharov prize recipient - Narges Mohammadi. Mohammadi was awarded the prize "for her leadership in campaigning for peace, justice and the abolition of the death penalty, as well as her unwavering efforts to promote the human rights and freedoms of the Iranian people, despite persecution that has forced her to suspend her scientific pursuits ... Continue Reading>>
Retired Tehran University Professor Receiving Necessary Medical Care
Dr. Mohammed Hosein Rafiee-Fanood, a retired professor of chemistry who has been imprisoned in Iran for peacefully expressing his political views, was operated on to repair varicose veins. He will also be examined for much needed other health problems. CCS has written many letters on his behalf requesting that he receive the medical care that he so desperately needed and we are very pleased that ... Continue Reading>>
Turkish Academics Temporarily Released
The hearing for the four Turkish Academics arrested for having signed the Peace Petition was held on Friday, April 22nd. There was considerable support from government observers from other countries and supporters who attended a rally outside of the courthouse. The scholars were temporarily released pending trial/charges altered to lesser charge. The Court is attempting to scale back the charges ... Continue Reading>>
Lori Berenson Released from Peru
CCS received the good news that Lori Berenson, who has been confined in a Peruvian prison for the past 20 years, has been released. Ms. Berenson has notified Human Rights groups who were supportive of her efforts to be released from a Peruvian prison, that she has finally been released. CCS wrote a letter to President Clinton in 2000 requesting his intervention in freeing Lori. She was released in ... Continue Reading>>
Nephew of Chinese Lawyer and Activist Chen Released from Prison
The nephew of the blind lawyer and activist Chen Guangcheng, who was arrested following his uncle's escape from illegal detention, was released from prison on Wednesday, September 16, 2015. Chen Kegui was released after serving a three-year, three-month sentence that was widely seen as retribution for his uncle's daring escape from house arrest. Chen said in an email from the United States that ... Continue Reading>>