According to news reports, Professors Mostafa Zidan and Magdy Khalifa were arrested in Egypt on charges of belonging to the now outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. Both academics are on hunger strikes in protest of their conditions, including ill treatment and harsh conditions. The allegation of harsh treatment and the resulting hunger strikes seem to imply that rights have not been granted, rights which ... Continue Reading>>
Our Work
Kokabee Denied Medical Care in Jail
Moved to Inhumane Prison Quarantine
Omid Kokabee, the graduate student at Texas University/Austin who has been imprisoned in Iran since 2011, has been denied medical care for kidney and stomach problems and was recently transferred to Evin Prison’s quarantine without basis, according to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. We reproduce the Campaign’s article of September 4, 2014 in full below. CCS has been ... Continue Reading>>
CCS Joins Science Organizations
In Protest of DOE Firing Scientist
Colleagues protested the firing of James E. Doyle, a political scientist with 17 years of employment with the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) after he published an article written on his own time and with his personal views that questioned US nuclear weapons policy. The agency, that had reviewed the article before publication, claimed that material that had not been ... Continue Reading>>
Ilham Tohti, Arrested in January
Now Charged with Separatism
On July 30, prosecutors announced online that Ilham Tohti, a professor at Central Minorities University in Beijing, had been formally charged with separatism, a crime which carries a potential death penalty. Tohti, an economics professor of economics and advocate for the rights of the Chinese Uighur minority, was arrested on January 15, 2014 and held incommunicado until late June. Tohti's ... Continue Reading>>
CCS Protests Lack of Due Process In
Long Detention of Former Morsi Official
Khaled al-Quzzaz, an engineer and educator, was foreign relations secretary to former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi. After Morsi was deposed by the Egyptian military, al-Quazzaz was arrested. He has been imprisoned in maximum security for over a year, over half of that in solitary confinement. We asked for the Egyptian government to provide him with due process, a fair trial and access to ... Continue Reading>>
Turkey Prosecutes Leaders of Organizations Involved in Gezi Protests, Scientists Included
Criminal trials have started against many of the organizations included in peaceful protests in 2011. Included are the leaders of associations of medical, engineering and architects. According to Amnesty International, the indictment charging these defendants does not contain any evidence of participation in or incitement to violence or any other criminal activity. CCS wrote to urge dismissal of ... Continue Reading>>
Uyghur Linguist’s Whereabouts Unknown Since Arrest for Attempt to Teach Language
Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur linguist and graduate of University of Kansas, hoped to open a kindergarten to promote education in Uyghurs native language. When he and his associates attempted to raise funds for this venture, they were arrested for "illegally fundraising." Relatives of Ayup have no information as to his whereabouts, even though they heard reports that he is in poor health in jail and ... Continue Reading>>
CCS Calls for Immediate Investigation of Assassination of Counsel in Blasphemy Case
After repeated threats called to the attention of Pakistani authorities, attorney and human rights advocate Rashid Rehman was assassinated on May 7, 2014. Rehman was defense counsel for Junaid Hafeez, an adjunct lecturer at the Bahuddin Zakariya University, who had been detained on blasphemy charges for over a year. CCS called for immediate investigation of the unknown assailants and further ... Continue Reading>>
Criminal, Legal, and Administrative Restrictions Aim At Limiting Turkish Doctors in Aiding Injured Protesters
CCS joins international outcry at measures instituted in Turkey against doctors who set up emergency medical facilities to treat protesters injured during demonstrations last summer. Criminal prosecutions started in May, 2014, call for long jail sentences. Legislation and administrative measures punish emergency care taken without government oversight last summer, putting professionals in conflict ... Continue Reading>>
Revocation of Degree Four Years Later Leads to Protest by Vietnamese Academics
Hanoi National University of Education awarded Do Thi Thoan a Masters Degree in 2010, after it received the highest possible evaluation. In 2014, another committee revoked the degree without explanation to Ms. Thoan. Her research adviser was fired. Suspecting politics, almost 300 Vietnamese academics, in Vietnam and abroad, protested the lack of due process in revoking the degree. CCS joined in ... Continue Reading>>