By Jack Minker, Vice-Chair for Computer Science I would like to thank the New York Academy of Sciences Human Rights Committee for honoring me as a co-recipient of the 2011 Heinz R. Pagels Award together with Dr. Binayak Sen of India. I have spoken to several of my colleagues from India at the University of Maryland, who have confirmed that Dr. Sen is an extraordinary humanitarian eminently worthy ... Continue Reading>>
Our Work
Dr. Binyak Sen’s 2011 Heinz Pagels Award Acceptance Speech
By Dr. Binayak Sen At the outset, I would like to thank the New York Academy of Sciences for conferring on me the prestigious Heinz R. Pagels Award for Human Rights. I wish it were possible for me to be with you in person on this occasion. Besides my gratitude for this great honour, I also have a personal reason to celebrate a connection with the Academy. My father was a pharmacologist whose ... Continue Reading>>
Dr. Binyak Sen's 2011 Heinz Pagels Award Acceptance Speech
By Dr. Binayak Sen At the outset, I would like to thank the New York Academy of Sciences for conferring on me the prestigious Heinz R. Pagels Award for Human Rights. I wish it were possible for me to be with you in person on this occasion. Besides my gratitude for this great honour, I also have a personal reason to celebrate a connection with the Academy. My father was a pharmacologist whose ... Continue Reading>>
Kokabee Imprisonment Creates Grave Concerns for Iranian Students in US, CCS Reports to Secretary Clinton
Following up on our previous activities on behalf of Omid Kokabee, an Iranian graduate student at the University of Texas, Austin, who was arrested when he returned to Iran, CCS wrote to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about his arrest and its chilling effect on Iranian students in the United States, who now fear that they will also be arrested if they go home to Iran. ... Continue Reading>>
Petition for the Release of Omid Kokabee
Please sign this petition for Omid Kokabee, an Iranian graduate student at the University of Texas, Austin, who was arrested on a visit to Iran last winter. He recently went on trial in Iran. ... Continue Reading>>
Government Action Threatens the Turkish Academy of Sciences
The government of Turkey issued a decree in August that would strip the Academy of its autonomy by having political bodies appoint most of its members and making its presidency a government-appointed position. The Committee of Concerned Scientists wrote to Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan supporting the action of other science academies in support of the Academy's autonomy ... Continue Reading>>
Iranian Physician Released From Prison
Arash Alaei, a pioneering HIV and AIDS doctor, has been released from an Iranian prison, his family said Sunday Aug. 28. Both he and his brother, Kamiar Alaei, who is also a doctor, were arrested in 2008. They were charged with "communication with an enemy government" and for trying to "overthrow the government," according to Kamiar. ... Continue Reading>>
CCS Protests the Arrest of Iranian Academic
CCS wrote a letter to Ayatollah Ali Khamene'i protesting the arrest and detention of Ramin Zibaei, a psychology scholar and dean at the Baha'i Institute of Higher Education in Tehran. ... Continue Reading>>
CCS Co-Chairs Weigh in on Science Organizations' Retreat from Individual Human Rights Advocacy
An extensive July 27 article by Declan Butler in Nature magazine explored the apparent shift away from focus on individual human rights activities by major science organizations such as the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the New York Academy of Science (NYAS) and the American Chemical Society (ACS). Leading scientific societies in the United States are being challenged ... Continue Reading>>
CCS Co-Chairs Weigh in on Science Organizations’ Retreat from Individual Human Rights Advocacy
An extensive July 27 article by Declan Butler in Nature magazine explored the apparent shift away from focus on individual human rights activities by major science organizations such as the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the New York Academy of Science (NYAS) and the American Chemical Society (ACS). Leading scientific societies in the United States are being ... Continue Reading>>