Thanks to the work of the Swiss Embassy, the American State Department and the Administrations of the United States and Iran, Xiyue Wang, a researcher and history student at Princeton who was arrested in 2016 and sentenced to 10 years in prison in Iran for espionage (charges which he has always denied) and Professor Massoud Soleimani, an Iranian scientist convicted of violating U.S. sanctions and ... Continue Reading>>
Committee of Concerned Scientists Review of 2018 Cases
The Committee of Concerned Scientists has compiled a brief review of our active cases over the past year. Many are still active, some have closed. The review gives a description of the situation for each case, a timeline and the current status of the scientist, academic, engineer or physician involved. ... Continue Reading>>
A Very Merry Happy 85th Birthday to Our Very Dear Advisory Board Member, Myriam Sarachik
Myriam Sarachik, famous for her pioneering experiments on the Kondo effect, metal-insulator transitions and spin tunneling, turns 85. She has been an invaluable, long-time CCS Board Member devoted to the human rights of scientists. I encourage everybody to read Myriam’s short autobiography: Pushing Boundaries: My Personal and Scientific Journey. Deeply personal, it encompasses great events that ... Continue Reading>>
Uighur Doctoral Student Disappears; Family Concerned She Is In Re-Education Camp
Guligeina Tashimaimaiti, a Uighur Ph.D. student, writer and scholar returned from a trip to Malaysia on December 26, 2017 and her family has not seen nor heard from her since. CCS has written the Party Secretary of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region requesting her release and her safety. July 7, 2018 Chen Quanguo Party Secretary of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region 479 Zhongshan ... Continue Reading>>
Oxford Doctoral Student Arrested in Iran for Unspecified Reasons
Mohammadreza Jalaleipour, a 34-year-old Ph.D. Student at Oxford University was arrested in Iran on April 18, 2018. He has had brief phone calls to his family, and no access to an attorney. The cause is unknown at this time. In 2009 Jalaeipour was detained for several months following the presidential election but was never prosecuted. Of concern is that Jalaleipour’s father is a member of the ... Continue Reading>>
Economics Professor Sentenced to Life in Prison in Turkey – Released Awaiting Appeal
Mehmet Altan, a professor of Economics at Istanbul University (where he had taught for over 30 years) and a prolific writer, was convicted, along with his brother, Ahmet, and a journalist, Nazli Ilicak for their alleged involvement in a 2016 failed military coup in Turkey. It is alleged that they sent “subliminal messages” regarding the failed coup attempt while on a television show. It seems, ... Continue Reading>>
Doctoral Student, Walid Salem, arrested in Egypt While Doing Research
Walid Salem, an Egyptian Doctoral student, studying in the United States at the University of Washington, was in Egypt working on research for his degree when he was arrested in Cairo. He was charged with spreading false news and belonging to a terrorist group. His arrest occurred after interviewing a well-known college professor about judicial independence. It appears that he is being ... Continue Reading>>
Human Rights Groups Write United Nations Rapporteurs Requesting Review of Djalali Case
Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali is still sentenced to death in Iran for espionage, according to the Iranian authorities. Many human rights organizations have written directly to the Ayatollah and the President requesting dismissal of his case and his release. Many have now requested the United Nations Special Rapporteurs intercede on his behalf and at a minimum dismiss the death sentence he faces. CCS’ ... Continue Reading>>
Committee of 100, the United Chinese Americans, the Ohio Chinese American Association and Nine Additional Community Groups, Demand Justice for Sherry Chen
Numerous organizations were outraged and are demanding justice for a Chinese-American, award-winning hydrologist, Sherry Chen. In 2014, she was falsely accused of spying for China. The charges were dropped in 2015. In 2016, she was fired from her job at the Commerce Department. Sherry appealed her firing to the Merit Systems Protection Board and won. In April 2018, the Chief Administrative ... Continue Reading>>
Ahmadreza Djalali Writes Supporters Pleading for Their Continued Advocacy. Physical Condition In Prison Deteriorating.
Ahmadreza Djalali, emergency and disaster medicine physician and lecturer, is still confined in a prison in Iran awaiting execution (or a reversal of his sentence). He came, by invitation, to lecture university students when he was arrested and accused of spying. The trial was unusual, he was initially banned from seeing family or an attorney; and during the trial was allegedly not allowed to ... Continue Reading>>