The wife of Ilham Tohti, who was arrested and charged with separatism (see our letter), cannot access his bank account since his arrest, Tohti's daughter told the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. Tohti's young children are traumatized by police harassment, she said, especially after witnessing mistreatment of her father. CCS urges authorities to end to restrictions on Tohti's ... Continue Reading>>
Our Work
Iranian Graduate Student in Belgium Sentenced for Scholarship Funding
In a repeat of the arrest, prosecution, and sentencing of Omid Kokabee, Hamid Babaei, an industrial engineering student in Belgium, was arrested as he attempted to return to his studies at the University of Liege. He was sentenced to six years in prison for communicating with a hostile government, apparently on the basis of his scholarship funding. CCS wrote to protest this charge, that Babaei ... Continue Reading>>
Egyptian’s Criticism of NGOs Guilty Verdict
Leads to Charging Him of Insulting Judiciary
Dr. Amr Hamzawy, a professor of political science at Cairo University and of public policy at the American University in Cairo, faces criminal charges in Egypt for expressing his opinions on Twitter. He wrote that he found shocking and obviously political a verdict against 43 employees of Western-based civil society groups. The employees were found guilty of "receiving illegal funds" and ... Continue Reading>>
His Jail in Teheran is a School,
Says Kokabee’s Poem for Family
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>>
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>>