Endangered Scholars Worldwide

Abstract

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 onlywith 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. The information in this report is current, to the best of our knowledge, as ofDecember 1,2013. Additional information and more recent information about many of these cases may be available on our website at http://www.newschool. edu/cps/endangered-scholars/. SCHOLARS AND RESEARCHERS: NEW AND CONTINUING CASES BAHRAIN Previously featured scholars from Bahrain who remain in prison include m a h d i ‘is s a m a h d i a b u d h e e b , form er president of the Bahrain Teachers’ Association (BTA), sentenced to five years’ imprisonment on October 21, 2012, on charges of “inciting hatred against the regime” and “calling to overthrow and change the regime by force”; and d r . a b d u l -ja l il a l-sin g a c e , professor o f engineering at the University of Bahrain, sentenced to life in prison on charges of training and financ­ ing a terrorist organization. Endangered Scholars Worldwide v 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 Kingdom of Bahrain Fax: +973 175 31 284 Appeals to: CAMEROON Previously featured scholar e n o h m e y o m e s s e , a writer, political activist, historian, and founder of the Cameroon Writers Association, remains in prison. He was sentenced to seven years in prison on December 27, 2012, on charges of illegally trafficking gold. Appeals to: His Excellency Paul Biya Dr. Chemuta Divine Banda President of the Republic of Cameroon Chairman Office of the President National Commission on Human Rights P.O. Box 100 and Freedoms Yaounde B.P. 20317 Yaounde Republic of Cameroon Republic of Cameroon Phone: +237 22 22 61 17 Fax: +237 22 22 60 82 Email: cndhl@iccnet.cm CHINA On November 4, 2013, a spokesperson for Toyo Takuen University near Tokyo, Japan, confirmed that one of the university’s professors of Sino-Japanese affairs, Chinese scholar z h u ji a n r o n g , has been held incommunicado by Chinese authorities since mid-July 2013. He went missing in mid-July while on a trip to Shanghai and was unable to communicate with family until over three months later when a 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 letter penned by Zhu made it to his brother in Shanghai. The letter only confirms that he is being detained by Chinese authorities and does not specify when he will be released. Prior to his disappearance, Zhu had been engaged in a research project involving interviews with officials of the Chinese military. X i a Y e l i a n g , a professor of economics at Peking University, was dismissed from his position on October 15,2013, following publications in which he expressed liberal views and criticized the Chinese govern­ ment. Although university officials released a statement claiming that the dismissal was due to a poor teaching record, several organizations and universities throughout the world, including Scholars at Risk, have expressed concern that the move was politically motivated. Xia was one of the first to sign Charter 08, a call for democratic reforms and respect for human rights, coauthored by previously featured scholar and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, l i...