Professor Pham Minh Hoang, lecturer in mathematics at Ho Chi Minh City Polytechnic Institute, was arrested on August 13, 2010 on charges of participating in a banned opposition political group, the Viet Tan. According to media reports, the arrest followed the interrogation two days earlier of Professor Hoang and his wife at a police station in Ho Chi Minh City, where they were questioned on their ... Continue Reading>>
Our Work
Igor Sutyagin Released
We welcomed the release of Dr. Igor Sutyagin, the Russian academic, who served more than a decade in prison in Siberia on espionage charges that we protested starting in 2001 as unfounded. Sutyagin was an arms control researcher for a British company to which he provided published and openly available information. ... Continue Reading>>
AAAS list of human rights organizations
The Science and Human Rights Coalition of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has prepared a comprehensive list of organizations involved in the defense of scientists' human rights. The "Welfare of Scientists" working group of the Coalition, which collected this information under the leadership of Drs. Juan Gallardo and John Gillespie, hopes that the list, together ... Continue Reading>>
Cuban Dissident Released
Darsi Ferrer, the director of the Juan Bruno Zayas Health and Human Rights Centre, was convicted on 22 June on spurious charges of receiving illegally obtained goods and "violence or intimidation against a state official" and sentenced to one year's imprisonment and three months' "correctional work" outside the prison. As he had already been imprisoned for almost a year he was immediately ... Continue Reading>>
Iranian scholar released on bail
According to reports from Amnesty International, Emadeddin Baghi, prominent Iranian scholar, journalist and human rights activist, was released on bail of 2,000 million Tomans (US$200,000) on Wednesday 23rd June. Emadeddin Baghi, an Iranian scholar and journalist, was arrested at his home on December 28th 2009. Baghi was reportedly held in solitary confinement in Evin Prison, without access to ... Continue Reading>>
Iranian physicist murdered
Dr. Massoud Alimohammadi was the victim of a targeted murder in Iran on January 12, 2010. The government of Iran alleges that he was assassinated by Israel and the United States due to his participation in Iran’s nuclear program. According to the journal Science, a publication of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Dr. Alimohammadi’s field of study was quantum physics, a field ... Continue Reading>>
Pro-democracy Syrian medical professionals complete prison terms
Syrian dentist Ahmad To’meh and medical doctors Walid al-Bunni, Feda’a al-Horani, and Yasser al-‘Eiti were released after having served 30 months in prison for their involvement with the National Council of the Damascus Declaration for Democratic National Change—an organization comprised of representatives of opposition political parties and pro-democracy groups in Syria. On October 29, 2008, ... Continue Reading>>
Second Israeli professor denied visa to Egypt
University of Haifa’s Rector Jossi Ben Artzi was recently denied an Egyptian visa. Professor Ben Artzi’s request for a visa to attend the Euro-Mediterranean University’s convention on June 11 and 12 in Alexandria was denied without any explanation. The Euro-Mediterranean University's Rector, Professor Joseph Mifsud, reportedly sent a letter of protest to Egypt's authorities. ... Continue Reading>>
Scientific freedom: What do human rights have to do with it?
By Jessica Wyndham Project Director, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Science and Human Rights Program For decades the scientific community has been advocating to free imprisoned scientists, to protect scientists threatened for revealing politically unpopular scientific findings, and to maintain open borders, allowing global scientific exchange. Arguments based on ... Continue Reading>>
Resolution 953 and Uighur rights
Congressman James McGovern of Massachusetts recently introduced Resolution 953, which calls for the US to raise the issue of Uighur rights with Chinese officials, for an independent investigation in the July crackdown on Uighur protesters, as well as for the establishment of a US consulate in Urumqi and the opening of a meaningful dialogue with China’s government. We support all of these goals. ... Continue Reading>>