a physicist, Soviet dissident, and human rights activist who co-founded the Moscow Helsinki Group and established a section of Amnesty International in the Soviet Union, passed away on September 27, 2020 at the age of 96. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/01/world/europe/yuri-orlov-dead.html ... Continue Reading>>
Organizations Across the Globe Call on Iran to Reverse Death Sentence for Ahmadreza Djalali
Many organizations have called on the Iranian government and President Rouhani to reconsider the death sentence for Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali. Dr. Djalali is a physician and professor of Emergency and Disaster Medicine. He was arrested in Iran while conducting a training to which he had been invited (and had done on other occasions, without incident). He was accused of espionage and held for long ... Continue Reading>>
Amnesty International Call to Action for Omid Kokabee
The Committee of Concerned Scientists joins with Amnesty International in calling for a letter-writing campaign in support of Omid Kokabee. Kokabee, a Ph.D. student in Physics at the University of Texas, Austin, was arrested when he went home to visit his family for refusing to work on Iranian military projects. He has been in prison in Iran for the past five years and was recently diagnosed ... Continue Reading>>
Saudi Court of Appeals Upholds
Flogging Sentence of Blogger
The Committee of Concerned Scientists appeals to fellow academics to protest this offense against human rights, international law and every humane standard that would subject Raif Badawi to multiple floggings for the offense of expressing his opinion. Take Action: Sign the Petition June 10, 2015 Dr. John L. Hennessy President of Stanford University Building 10, Stanford CA 94305-2061 Dr. ... Continue Reading>>
31 Nobel Physics Laureates Join Iran Petitions For Kokabee
As a culmination of efforts to obtain the release of Omid Kokabee, the physics graduate student imprisoned in Iran on unsubstantiated charges, at 10:30 AM Tuesday October 28, the Committee of Concerned Scientists, Amnesty International and the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran will deliver thousands of petitions, including the Nobelists' letter, to the Iran UN Mission in New York. ... Continue Reading>>
Nobel Laureates Call for Release of Iranian Physicist : Nature News Blog
Eighteen Physics Nobel laureates have signed an open letter addressed to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, calling for the release of Omid Kokabee, a 32-year-old physicist who has spent the last 3 years and 8 months in a Teheran prison. The letter is a joint initiative by Amnesty International; the Committee of Concerned Scientists (CCS), an international human-rights organization ... Continue Reading>>
Turkey Prosecutes Leaders of Organizations Involved in Gezi Protests, Scientists Included
Criminal trials have started against many of the organizations included in peaceful protests in 2011. Included are the leaders of associations of medical, engineering and architects. According to Amnesty International, the indictment charging these defendants does not contain any evidence of participation in or incitement to violence or any other criminal activity. CCS wrote to urge dismissal of ... Continue Reading>>
CCS Regrets the Death of Andrew Sessler,
Advisory Board Member and Strong Supporter
Dr. Andrew Sessler, CCS Advisory Board member and the former director of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, passed away on April 1, 2014 after a long illness. "Intensely concerned about human rights, Sessler focused on scientists caught in political situations beyond their control. He wrote letters in support of dissidents in the Soviet Union and other countries. He was active on boards and ... Continue Reading>>
A New Joint Petition for Omid Kokabee
CCS urges those who support the human rights of scientists to sign this petition created by Free Omid, with the support of Amnesty International, and the Committee of Concerned Scientists. It was set up with the aim of combining the efforts of institutions, organizations and every single supporter of Omid Kokabee's into a unique petition. It advocates his unconditional release from prison and will ... Continue Reading>>
Iran’s Human Rights Violations
Detailed in Two Public Presentations
Iran: Silencing Scientists and Squelching Scholarship A November 16, 2013 open meeting in Washington DC Iran: Silencing Scientists and Squelching Scholarship, organized by: Amnesty International, Georgetown University Amnesty International, and the Georgetown University Science and Human Rights Group, was moderated by Jessica Wyndham of the AAS Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law ... Continue Reading>>