Endangered Scholars Worldwide

Endangered Scholars Worldwide Social Research wasfounded by a group ofscholars known as the University in Exile, refugees from Nazi Europe whofound a home at the New School. In each issue we publish the names and details ofscholars, researchers, and students who have been threatened or imprisoned, along with ways to offer them support. We see this effort as consistent not only with our own history as ajournal but with the need to call attention to the increasing and often brutal attempts to silence our colleagues around the world. We urge readers to write letters on behalfof these scholars, researchers, and students. Sample letters can befound on our website at www.newschool.edu/ cps/endangered-scholars. Ifyou are aware ofa scholar or student whose case you believe we should investigate,please contact us at esw@newschool.edu. SCHOLARS AND RESEARCHERS: NEW AND CONTINUING CASES BAHRAIN JALILA AL-SALMAN and MAHDI ‘iSSA MAHDI ABU D H EEB, both board members of the Bahrain Teachers’ Association, received prison sentences on October 21, 2012, when an appeals court upheld their guilty verdict. They have been handed sentences of six months and five years, respectively, on charges of “inciting hatred against the regime” and “calling to overthrow and change the regime by force” following the group’s call for a teacher strike in March 2011. Information current, to the best of our knowledge, as of December 3, 2012. Additional information about many of these cases, and sample letters of protest, which can be printed out and mailed or emailed, may be found on our website at http://www. newschool.edu/cps/endangered-scholars/. Endangered Scholars W orldw ide v Previously featured scholar d r . a b d u l -ja l il a l -s in g a c e , profes­ sor of engineering at the University of Bahrain, is reportedly weak and in deteriorating health following a hunger strike earlier this fall. He was sentenced to life imprisonment on June 22, 2011, on charges of train­ ing and financing a terrorist organization; he was reportedly tortured during his pretrial detention. He was part of a group of prisoners who engaged in a hunger strike to protest several violations and restric­ tions placed on prisoners, including restrictions on calls to family and lawyers, access to newspapers, and access to exercise in fresh air. Also still in prison is previously featured scholar r u l a a l -s a f f e r , assistant professor at the College of Health Sciences and head of the Bahrain Nursing Society, who was sentenced on September 29,2011, to 15 years in prison. Appeals to: His Majesty Sheikh Hamad bin Issa Al-Khalifa Office of His Majesty the King P.O. Box 555 Rifa’a Palace Kingdom of Bahrain Fax: +973 176 64 587 Sheikh Khalid bin Ali Al-Khalifa Ministry ofJustice and Islamic Affairs P.O. Box 450 Al-Manama Bahrain Fax: +973 175 31 284 CHINA Scholars featured in previous issues who remain in prison in China include writer and editor t a s h i r a b t e n (pen name Te’urang), sentenced to four years’ imprisonment onJune 2,2011, for his critical political writ­ ings; l iu x ia o b o , a human rights activist and 2011 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, held in an undisclosed location in Beijing since his arrest in December 2008 for “inciting subversion of state power”; and g u o q u a n , Dr. Fatima Al-Balushi Minister of Human Rights and Social Development, Acting Minister of Health Ministry of Human Rights and Development Manama Kingdom of Bahrain vi social research a former literature professor at Nanjing Normal University, sentenced to ten years in prison and three years of deprivation of political rights in October 2009 on charges of “inciting subversion of state power.” Appeals to: His Excellency Hu Jintao President of the People’s Republic of China Zhong Naihai Beijing 100032 People’s Republic of China Salutation: Your Excellency Mr. Wang Shengjun President, Supreme People’s Court No. 27 Dongjiaominxiang Dongcheng District Beijing 100745 People’s Republic of China Fax: +86 10 65292345 (c/o Ministry of Communication) Salutation: Dear President Facebook group in...