Hu Jia, a prominent Chinese dissident whose activism on behalf of the environment and AIDS sufferers landed him in prison for the last three and a half years, was released in the pre-dawn hours Sunday, June 18, and returned to his home in Beijing. CCS has been advocating for his release, supporting his family''s request for medical parole, in view of Hu Jia's serious liver ailment. ... Continue Reading>>
Good News
Professor Released from Iranian Prison
CCS also welcomed the release of Professor Emadeddin Baghi, who was released after serving two concurrent one-year jail sentences for "propaganda against the state”. One related to his founding of the Association to Defend Prisoners' Rights and the other to an interview broadcast by the BBC together with the late government critic Grand Ayatollah Hosseinali-Monatazeri. ... Continue Reading>>
Belarusian Professor sentenced to probation
Aleksandr Feduta, a EHU (European Humanities University) lecturer and journalist, was arrested with hundreds of other opposition activists, including 11 EHU students, in the aftermath of the contested Belarusian presidential election on 19 December 2010. ... Continue Reading>>
Acquitted Colombian professor to resume teaching
Miguel Ángel Beltrán Villegas, the Colombian professor who was arrested in Mexico in 2009 and acquitted on Friday of accusations of being a member of the FARC, announced Wednesday he will resume teaching. A city judge decided Friday that Beltrán would be allowed to go free, "given the inconsistencies (of the evidence)," ... Continue Reading>>
Good News for Dr. Binayak Sen
The Supreme Court of India granted bail in April, 2011 to Dr. Binayak Sen, observing that no case of sedition was made out against the human rights activist, who was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by a trial court in Chhattisgarh State. CCS had advocated on behalf of Dr. Sen, who had set up clinics for impoverished and minority people in his province. ... Continue Reading>>
Igor Sutyagin Released
We welcomed the release of Dr. Igor Sutyagin, the Russian academic, who served more than a decade in prison in Siberia on espionage charges that we protested starting in 2001 as unfounded. Sutyagin was an arms control researcher for a British company to which he provided published and openly available information. ... Continue Reading>>
Cuban Dissident Released
Darsi Ferrer, the director of the Juan Bruno Zayas Health and Human Rights Centre, was convicted on 22 June on spurious charges of receiving illegally obtained goods and "violence or intimidation against a state official" and sentenced to one year's imprisonment and three months' "correctional work" outside the prison. As he had already been imprisoned for almost a year he was immediately ... Continue Reading>>
Thai professor released
Professor Suthachai Yimprasert, assistant professor at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, who was arrested on May 24, sent to a provincial army camp, and went on a hunger strike, was released on May 31 in Bangkok, according to Thai sources, before we had a chance to write on his behalf. ... Continue Reading>>
Kian Tajbakhsh
Iranian-American sociologist Kian Tajbakhsh was able to celebrate the Persian New Year with his family on March 13 and on April 3 allowed to stay out of Evin prison longer. Tajbakhsh, who was sentenced to 15 years for espionage, had to post bail in the amount of $800,000. His sentence has been reduced to five years by an Iranian court of appeals. CCS and many human rights organizations and ... Continue Reading>>
Dr. Matrouk al-Faleh
Dr. Matrouk al-Faleh, a 55-year-old Saudi political scientist and human rights advocate, was released from prison on January 10, 2009, after being held for more than seven months without charges. ... Continue Reading>>