CCS protests Israel's detention without charges of Dr. Imad al-Barghouthi, an astro-physicist and professor at al-Quds University, while he was traveling to the United Arab Emirates to a conference. Such interference with academic freedom and due process violates international conventions, CCS writes, as well as human rights specifically mentioned in Israel's agreement with the EU for research and ... Continue Reading>>
Our Work
Seven Students Reportedly Convicted on Separatism Charges in China
View image | gettyimages.com Seven students of Professor Ilham Tohti's have reportedly been sentenced to three to eight years in prison in China on charges of separatism. They were arrested at the same time that Tohti was, and CCS is concerned that some of the students were coerced into testifying against Professor Tohti in order to receive lighter sentences. President Xi Jinping The State ... Continue Reading>>
Iranian Students Around the World Demand Medical Attention, Due Process for Kokabee
In a statement of solidarity with Omid Kokabee, 161 Iranian PhD students and graduates released an open letter demanding medical attention and due process for the imprisoned physics student. The signers included students from Tehran's Sharif University of Technology, MIT, Princeton, Johns Hopkins and Columbia, including several winners of International Science Olympiad ... Continue Reading>>
Highlights of 2014 Cases
We continued to advocate in 2014 on behalf of scientists, academics and doctors. The following are highlights of our cases so far. Unfortunately, Professor Ilham Tohti was sentenced to life in prison for his support of China's Uighur minority. In Iran, Hamid Babaei, an engineering student in Belgium, was sentenced to six years in prison, echoing the Omid Kokabee case. We are pleased to report ... Continue Reading>>
Kokabee Wins AAAS Award
As Petitions Delivered to Iran
The same day as human rights activists delivered 14,000 petition signatures, including 31 by Nobel Physics Laureates, for Omid Kokabee's release, the American Association for the Advancement of Science awarded him the prize for Freedom and Scientific Responsibility. Representatives of the human rights organization, including CCS co-chair Eugene Chudnovsky, also met with Iranian officials at the ... Continue Reading>>
31 Nobel Physics Laureates Join Iran Petitions For Kokabee
As a culmination of efforts to obtain the release of Omid Kokabee, the physics graduate student imprisoned in Iran on unsubstantiated charges, at 10:30 AM Tuesday October 28, the Committee of Concerned Scientists, Amnesty International and the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran will deliver thousands of petitions, including the Nobelists' letter, to the Iran UN Mission in New York. ... Continue Reading>>
France’s Science Academy Gold Medal Honors Work and Life of Joel Lebowitz
The Academie des Sciences of the Institute of France awarded its 2014 Grande Medaille, its highest distinction, to Joel Lebowitz, Director of the Rutgers Center for Mathematical Sciences Research and co-chair of the Committee of Concerned Scientists, calling him "a man of science and peace." Besides his prominence as a world leader in statistical physics, the citation describes Lebowitz, the only ... Continue Reading>>
Doctor’s Estimate About Epidemic
Leads to Threat of Terrorist Charge
Doctors in Venezuela warned that an outbreak of a mosquito-borne disease in Venezuela could lead to a wider epidemic, as it had in other South American nations. The government accused one doctor of "psychological terrorism" and threatened him with prosecution, forcing him to flee the country. Representatives of the medical profession characterized the threats as part of a campaign against their ... Continue Reading>>
Good News: Iran’s Supreme Court to
Reconsider Kokabee Case
Omid Kokabee’s attorney, Saeed Khalili, posted the news on his Facebook page that the Supreme Court of Iran has accepted his request for reconsideration of Omid’s case. The lawyer is confident about proving Kokabee’s innocence. It would appear that the court has vacated the sentence in effect at present. CCS is awaiting further confirmation of these hopeful developments before considering any ... Continue Reading>>
Malaysian Law Professor’s Remarks
On Crisis Lead to Sedition Charges
Azmi Sharom, an associate professor of law at the University of Malaysia Faculty of Law compared an ongoing political crisis to a situation in 2009 and criticised the secrecy with which the issue was treated. He is being prosecuted for sedition. CCS requested that to the extent his statements were made in respect to his professional competence as a legal scholar, the charges should be dropped as ... Continue Reading>>