We welcome the news that Dr. Halil Kemal Gürüz, a chemical engineer, education administrator and former professor and university rector, was allowed to go home pending his appeal from the thirteen years and eleven month sentence imposed on him by a criminal court in Turkey on August 5, 2013. In a new trial on September 5 on another charge, Dr. Gürüz was placed on probation by an Ankara court ... Continue Reading>>
Our Work
New Appeal for Omid Kokabee Details Specific Human Rights Law Violations
The Committee of Concerned Scientists endorses a new appeal on behalf of Texas University physics student Omid Kokabee, who is imprisoned in Teheran. CCS and many other human rights organizations have been advocating for his release since his arrest in 2011. The letters to Iranian and international officials (see below) were drafted by Ellen Hutchison, a student at Texas University/Austin, with ... Continue Reading>>
Court Hands Down Harsh Verdicts in Ergenekon Case: Drs. Haberal, Hilmioğlu, Gürüz get 13 to 23 Years
On August 5, 2013, the trial court in the five-year old Ergenekon trial, alleging that military officers and secularist allies planned an unsuccessful coup to overthrow the elected Islamic-leaning government, the High Criminal Court handed down severe sentences based on thousands of pages of indictments, based on trials described by international observers as lacking due process. Of the ... Continue Reading>>
International Human Rights Science Network Calls for Release of Eight Turkish Colleagues
In an extensive and thoroughly researched investigative report -- to be released in late August -- the International Human Rights Network of Academies and Scholarly Societies calls on Turkey to drop all charges against scientists, engineers and doctors accused of terrorism-related crimes. These include Drs. Guruz, Haberal, Hilmioglu and others for whom CCS has advocated. The authors -- Nobel ... Continue Reading>>
Computer Student in Turkey, Protesters, Systematically Denied Legal Assistance
CCS wrote to authorities in Turkey to protest the policy of the Istanbul police, as reported by the Istanbul Bar Association, to systematically deny access to legal assistance for protesters as they were arrested. A student of computer engineering, Ismail Cem Bakir, was unable to consult his attorney as police arrested him and raided his home, in violation of his fundamental human rights. ... Continue Reading>>
In Spite of Protests, Peking University Expels Respected Economics Professor
In a letter to the President of Peking University Wang Enge, CCS urged cancellation of an upcoming faculty vote to expel University Professor Xia Yeiling for his support of free speech and constitutional government. Xia, a respected authority on economics, is a visiting professor at Stanford, but said that he wants to return to China to continue teaching. January 2013 Update Chinese ... Continue Reading>>
CCS Protests the Beating of Activist and Physicist in Moscow
Dr. Lev Ponomarev, a prominent Russian physicist and human rights activist, was violently evicted from the offices of his organization, "For Human Rights," during a dispute over the lease. Ponomarev and five others were treated so roughly by security guards hired by the city of Moscow that they had to be treated at a first aid clinic. CCS protested the assault to Russian authorities, ... Continue Reading>>
Russian Physicist and Human Rights Activist Beaten at his Moscow Office
Russian physicist and human rights defender Lev Ponomarev was beaten up when he and his staff were violently evicted from the Moscow office of his organization For Human Rights on June 22. Dr. Ponomarev worked and published for many years in elementary particle physics at the Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics in Moscow. He became involved in human rights and politics in the ... Continue Reading>>
CCS Urges Putin to Release Student Activist
CCS wrote a letter to Russian president Vladimir Putin in support of Yaroslav Belousov, a political science student who was arrested in June of 2012. His trial started recently in Moscow. According to press reports, Belusov was arrested while participating in an authorized protest demonstration. He has been in jail for a year and could be convicted of a sentence of up to 12 years. According to ... Continue Reading>>
Prof. Al-Singace Denied Family Visits and Medical Attention in Bahrain Jail
CCS has learned from Professor Abdul Jail Al-Singace's family that he has been denied medical attention and family visits while serving a life sentence in prison. Al-Singace's conviction was based on his reporting on human rights abuses in Bahrain. Dr. Al-Singace, a professor of mechanical engineering who has taught at the University of Bahrain since 1995, is also a leader of the democratic ... Continue Reading>>