Endangered Scholars Worldwide

Endangered Scholars Worldwide BAHRAIN d r . a b d u l -j a l i l a l - s i n g a c e , a professor of engineering at the University of Bahrain, was arrested on August 13, 2010 on his way back to Bahrain from the United Kingdom, w here he had given a speech about the hum an rights situation in his country. He was subsequently held incom m unicado for two weeks, during which tim e he claims he and other detainees were severely tortured. Al-Singace is the spokes­ m an and director of the H um an Rights Bureau of the Haq Movement for Civil Liberties and Democracy, an opposition political organiza­ tion w ith support from the Shiite com m unity in Bahrain. According to Human Rights Watch, several other m embers of the Haq Movement were arrested shortly after al-Singace, and w hen finally given access to their lawyers on August 27 and 28, they all reported being tortured. The torture, w hich the lawyers claimed was visible on their bodies, included severe beatings, being forced to stand for long periods, being suspended by their hands, application of electric shocks, and depriva­ tion of food, water, and sleep. The Bahrain Center for Hum an Rights has reported th at the governm ent has issued a ban on publications about the case of Dr. al-Singace and the other detainees. Appeals to: Shaikh Khaled bin Ali al-Khalifa His M ajesty S haikh H am ad b in Issa M inister o fJustice and Islamic Affairs A1 Khalifa P.O. Box 450 King o f Bahrain al-M anam a Office o f His Majesty th e King Bahrain P. O. B ox 555 Fax: +973 17536343 Rifa’a Palace Salutation: Your Excellency Kingdom o f Bahrain Fax:+ 973 1766 8884 Salutation: Your Majesty Inform ation current, to the best of our knowledge, as o f Septem ber 7, 2010. Endangered Scholars W orldw ide v IRAN e m a d e d d i n b a g h i , a w ell-know n Iranian scholar and hum an rights defender w hom we have often featured in previous issues, was sentenced in July and Septem ber 2010 to a total of seven years in prison on charges related to the form ation of an organization to defend prisoners’ rights and for recording an interview w ith a reform ist cleric, Baghi, w ho was only just released on June 23, 2010. After spending five m onths in solitary confinem ent w ithout charge, Baghi will now retu rn to jail. He is at grave risk due to a heart condition for w hich he has been refused treatm ent during previous im prisonm ents. j a ’f a r k a z e m i , a textbook lithographer at Amir Kabir University in Tehran, was arrested in Septem ber 2009 for participating in the protests that followed the disputed presidential elections, and for his alleged contact w ith the banned organization the People’s Mojahedin of Iran. In April 2010 he was sentenced to death for “enm ity against God” and “propaganda against the regim e” and according to Amnesty International his last appeal to this sentence was rejected by the Supreme Court in July. He is now at im m inent risk ofbeing executed. An online petition on his behalf can be accessed through the Endangered Scholars Worldwide website. Scholars featured in previous issues w ho rem ain in prison in Iran include m a j i d t a v a k o l i , b a h a r e h h e d a y a t , and m i l a d a s a d i , distinguished student activists sentenced to eight-and-a-half, nine-and-a-half, and seven years, respectively, for th e ir involve­ m en t in 2009 anti-governm ent protests; d r . m o s t a f a a l a v i , an Iranian doctor and researcher sentenced to 15 years im prisonm ent in August 2008 for “plotting against th e regim e...