Endangered Scholars Worldwide

Endangered Scholars Worldwide BAHRAIN After being freed from jail for less than a month, d r . a b d u l -j a l i l a l -s in g a c e , a professor of engineering at the University of Bahrain who was featured in our Fall 2010 issue, was re-imprisoned on March 17, 2011, without charge. Al-Singace was one of a number of prison­ ers released on February 23, 2011, by order of the king of Bahrain. Following a trip to the United Kingdom, where he had given a speech on the human rights situation in his country, al-Singace was arrested and had been detained since August 13, 2010, including a 15-day period when he was held at an undisclosed location without access to legal counsel or family. He is the spokesperson and director of the Human Rights Bureau of the Haq Movement for Civil Liberties and Democracy, an opposition political organization with support from the Shiite community in Bahrain. During his past imprisonment, al-Singace, who suffers from poliomyelitis that has left him partially paralyzed, was not given access to sufficient medical treatment. Appeals to: His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Salman A1Khalifa Prime Minister Ministry of Foreign Affairs P.O. Box 547 Government Road Manama Kingdom of Bahrain Fax to: +973 1-753-6343 Salutation: Your Majesty Information current, to the best of our knowledge, as of March 21,2011. social research Vol. 78 : No. 1 : Spring 2011 v BELARUS Following protests over the disputed Belarusian presidential elec­ tion on December 19, 2010, hundreds of protestors were arrested, including 11 students and a lecturer from the European Humanities University (EHU). Among them was a l i a k s a n d e r a t r o s h c h a n k a u , an international law student at EHU, whose trial began on March 1, 2011, after he had been held in prison for over two months. He is accused of mass riot and armed resistance against the police and could face a sentence of 5 to 15 years. Viasna, a nongovernmental human rights organization based in Belarus, reports that first sittings of his trial revealed no evidence that Atroshchankau is guiltyc of participating in mass riot or using armed resistance against the police. Also held for over two months was a n a s t a s s ia p a l a z h a n k a , a student of political science and European studies at EHU, who has been banned from leaving the country and, if prosecuted, faces up to 15 years in prison, a l e k s a n d e r f e d u t a , a lecturer at EHU and a political activist, has also been charged with mass riot and faces a 5- to 15-year sentence. Feduta was a member of Vladimir Nekiajev’s presidential election team. Appeals to: President of the Republic of Belarus Fax: +375 (172) 26 06 10 or Alyaksandr G. Lukashenka +375 (172) 22 38 72 Karl Marx Str. 38 Tel: +375 (172) 22 38 72 220016 g. Minsk Email: pres@president.gov.by Belarus Salutation: Dear President CHINA On October 8, 2010, the Nobel Committee awarded Chinese writer and human rights activist l iu x i a o b o the Nobel Peace Prize “for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China.” He has been held in an undisclosed location in Beijing since his arrest in December 2008 for “inciting subversion of state power.” Since the prize was awarded, Chinese authorities have clamped down on dissident groups and individuals, placing several people, including the h u s h i n vi social research g e n (who was featured in our Winter 2007 issue) and Liu’s wife, n u x i a , under house arrest without charge. t u s u n ja n h e z i m , a former history teacher, writer, and manager of a website featuring scholarly articles on Uighur history and culture, was sentenced to seven years in jail following a secret trial in March 2011. Chinese officials have not publicly...