On the occasion of Nowruz, the Persian New Year, Omid Kokabee sent his family a poem he wrote in jail. We are posting it here with the family's permission. Kokabee, a graduate student at Texas University/Austin, is in Evin prison since 2011 for allegedly "communicating with an enemy government" and "illegal earnings." CCS and many others protested his conviction as lacking due process. In his ... Continue Reading>>
Our Work
His Jail in Teheran is a School,
Statement About Cao Shunli
The Committee of Concerned Scientists expresses shock and sadness at the news of the death in detention of human rights activist and lawyer Cao Shunli. Since 2008, Cao has pushed for petitioners and activists to have a voice in China's domestic human rights reviews and the UN's universal periodic review (UPR). Authorities first detained Cao at Beijing airport on September 14, 2014, as she was ... Continue Reading>>
Respond to UN Amouee Report,
CCS Request to Iran’s Authorities
Bahman Ahmadi Amouee, an Iranian economist and journalist, was arrested and imprisoned in June 2009 for alleged anti-state activities and was sentenced to seven years and four months imprisonment and 34 lashes. On January 27, 2014, the United Nations (UN) Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued an opinion, based in part on information provided by CCS, requesting the Iranian government release ... Continue Reading>>
Turkish Court Releases Professor on
Medical Grounds
Prof. Fatih Hilmioğlu, former rector of Inonu University, was released from jail on February 20 for six months after an order from the Constitutional Court that said his imprisonment interfered with his treatment for cancer and other illnesses acquired in prison, and this constituted an infringement of his right to life. Immediately after leaving the prison, Hilmioğlu said "If I've been released ... Continue Reading>>
Responding to CCS, UN Working Group Finds Iranian Detention of Amouee Arbitrary
Bahman Ahmadi Amouee, an economist and journalist, was arrested and imprisoned in June 2009 for alleged anti-state activities and was sentenced to seven years and four months imprisonment and 34 lashes. On January 27, 2014, the United Nations (UN) Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued an opinion, based in part on information provided by CCS, requesting the Iranian government release Amouee ... Continue Reading>>
Iraqi Mathematician Seeks Asylum in Germany
After surviving an assassination attempt in Baghdad, internationally known mathematician Ahmad Zainy al-Yasry is petitioning the Federal Republic of Germany for asylum. CCS supports his application. ... Continue Reading>>
Advocate for Uighur Minority in China Arrested, Taken to Undisclosed Location
Dr. Ilham Tohti, a Professor of economics at the Central Minorities University in Beijing was arrested after a raid of his apartment and materials in it. He had been previously harassed and threatened, allegedly to stop him from talking to foreign journalists. CCS wrote to Chinese authorities asking for Tohti to be treated with fairness and due process, including access to family and ... Continue Reading>>
Russian Winner of Sakharov Prize Writes Urging President Putin to Help Kokabee
Boris Altshuler, physicist and chairman of the NGO "Right of the Child", who won the 2013 Sakharov human rights prize together with Omid Kokabee, addressed a letter to President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation, suggesting that he appeal to Dr. Hassan Rouhani, President of Iran, requesting Omid Kokabee's release from prison so that the latter can pursue his studies at the University of ... Continue Reading>>
Reject Boycott of Israel
By Walter Reich, CCS Co-Chair An American academic organization is poised to begin sweeping a respected segment of academia into the dustbin of intellectual and moral irrelevancy. At its annual meeting this week, the 30,000-member Modern Language Association will hold a session aimed at strategizing how to mount academic boycotts against Israel, and will consider a resolution critical of ... Continue Reading>>
CCS Urges Chinese Law School To Reinstate
Scholar, Advocates for Freedoms Under Constitution
Professor Zhang Xuezhong, a Professor of Law at East China University of Political Science and Law in Shanghai, was fired for "seriously violating teachers' professional ethics." Zhang, who has been an advocate for freedom of speech and association under the Chinese constitution, denied ever using his position as a teacher to promote his views. CCS wrote to the University President to protest what ... Continue Reading>>