- Endangered Scholars Worldwide
The information in this quarterly print report is current as of February 19, 2021. The situation of scholars and students around the world changes on a daily basis. For the most current information and ways in which you can be involved in calling for the freedom of endangered scholars and students, please visit us online at www.endangeredscholarsworldwide.net or follow us at www.facebook.com/endangeredscholars. In these pages we introduce new cases that have come to our attention over the past three months and provide basic information about continuing cases—a description of charges and potential or actual reported sentences. If you are aware of a scholar or student whose case you believe we should investigate, please contact us at esw@newschool.edu.
NEW AND CONTINUING CASES
BAHRAIN
For the most current information, please visit www.endangeredscholarsworldwide.net/Bahrain or scan the QR code.
Continuing cases: Though Bahrain released 1,486 prisoners on March 17, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, imprisoned scholars and students—many of whom are older and suffer from underlying medical conditions—were excluded from the decrees, including abdul-jalil al-singace, 57, former head of the Department of Engineering at the University of Bahrain, who has been subjected to torture and various other forms of mistreatment, and repeatedly denied medical attention despite his long-term poliomyelitis, which has left him paralyzed since childhood. [End Page v]
Students jawad al-mahary, shawqi radhi, jassim al-hulaini, jassim al-mukhodher, and yousif ahmed remain in prison for their involvement in pro-democracy demonstrations, as does ahmed auon, who has also been denied medical treatment following loss of his right eye when he was struck by a metal pellet fired from a police shotgun following the demonstration.
Please send appeals to the following:
Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa Office of the King The Amiri Court PO Box 555 Rifa’a Palace Al-Manama Kingdom of Bahrain Fax: +973 176 64 587 | Website: http://www.mofa.gov.bh/ Sheikh Khalid bin Abdullah Al-Khalifa Deputy Prime Minister Diplomatic Area PO Box # 450 Al-Manama Kingdom of Bahrain Fax: +973 175 13 333 |
BRAZIL
For the most current information, please visit www.endangeredscholarsworldwide.net/brazil or scan the QR code.
Continuing case: Endangered Scholars Worldwide stands in solidarity with the students and faculty of Brazilian universities, and joins academic, intellectual, and political leaders in Brazil and elsewhere to decry the Brazilian administration’s continuing attacks under the leadership of President Jair Bolsonaro and in the name of his aggressive, anti-progressive, and fascistic agenda. We call upon all European governments, the United States Department of State, international organizations, university presidents, academic and professional associations, student groups, and individuals devoted to the promotion and defense of human rights to protest and condemn these attacks on the pillars of Brazil’s democracy and education system. Please see our website for current information about the independence of higher education institutions. [End Page vi]
Please send appeals to the following:
Koumbou Boly-Barry United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education Palais des Nations CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland Email: sreducation@ohchr.org | Irene Khan United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression Palais des Nations CH-1211 Geneva 10 Switzerland Fax: +41 22 917 9006 Email: freedex@ohchr.org |
CHINA
For the most current information, please visit www.endangeredscholarsworldwide.net/China or scan the QR code.
New information: On February 8, 2021, Lawyers at Essex Court Chambers in London published a legal opinion piece suggesting that available evidence of Chinese state actions establishes a “credible case” that authorities have committed crimes against humanity and the crime of genocide against Uyghurs in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). Since 2017, authorities in the XUAR have detained around 1.8 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in a vast network of internment camps as part of a “de-extremification” scheme. The opinion also finds that “the crime of genocide is occurring, as there is evidence of an intent to destroy the Uyghur population as such, including through a pattern...