Endangered Scholars Worldwide

Endangered Scholars Worldwide Social Research wasfounded by a group ofscholars known as the University in Exile, refugeesfrom 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. Ifyou are aware of a scholar or student whose case you believe we should investigate, please contact us at socres@newschool.edu. SCHOLARS AND RESEARCHERS: NEW AND CONTINUING CASES BAHRAIN Prison sentences have been handed to j a l i l a a l -s a l m a n and m a h d i ‘i s s a m a h d i a b u d h e e b , both board members of the Bahrain Teachers’ Association, arrested 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. They have been sentenced to three and ten years, respectively. Amnesty International has expressed serious concerns about Mahdi’s health and fears that he may die in prison. During a hearing in December 2011, Mahdi showed clear signs of having been beaten while in detention. Previously featured scholars from Bahrain who remain in prison include d r . a b d u i -j a l i i a l -s i n g a c e , a professor of engineering at Information current, to the best of our knowledge, as of March 7, 2012. Additional information and more current information about many of these cases may be avail­ able on our website at . social research Vol. 79 : No. 1 : Spring 2012 v the University of Bahrain, sentenced to life imprisonment on June 22, 2011, on charges of training and financing a terrorist organization, and reportedly tortured during his pre-trial detention; and r u l a a l s a f f e r , an assistant professor at the College of Health Sciences and the head of the Bahrain Nursing Society, sentenced on September 29, 2011, to 15 years in prison. The threats to scholars in Bahrain extend beyond the individual cases reported here. According to a report from Scholars at Risk, in the year since pro-democracy protests began in February 2011, at least 100 faculty and staff have been dismissed from the University of Bahrain for participating in the protests, and over 500 students have been suspended or expelled. 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 wno remain m prison m cm na include writer and editor t a s h i r a b t e n (pen name t e ’u r a n g ), sentenced to four years’ imprisonment on June 2, 2011, for his critical political writings; l i u x i a 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 , a former literature professor at Nanjing Normal University, sentenced to 10 years in prison and 3 years of deprivation of politiDr . 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 cal rights in October 2009 on charges of “inciting subversion of state power.” Appeals to: His Excellency HuJintao President ofthe 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...