NEAR Newsletter March 2004
Welcome to the NEAR Newsletter. In this edition you will find our most recent Action Alerts and also an ‘Academic Freedom in the Media’ section, listing news by country (March 2004). Any comments and suggestions about the content and layout of the newsletter will be gratefully received at roisin.joyce@nearinternational.org.
NEAR Action Alerts *Taken from the NEAR website
Kuwait: Fear of Detention as Researcher is Released
The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN welcomes the release of writer, journalist and researcher Yasser al-Habib, who was amnestied by the Emir on 25 February 2004, Kuwaiti National Day. However, PEN is deeply concerned at reports that security forces have attempted to re-arrest him without a warrant.
Ethiopia: Ethnical Mass Arrest of Students Condemned
The Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO) yesterday condemned the mass arrests and physical abuse of hundreds of university students in the capital, Addis Ababa, in January. The human rights organisation said federal officers had rounded up 349 students belonging to the Oromo ethnic group before transporting them to a detention centre.
Bangladesh: Violent Attack leaves Bangladeshi Lecturer in Critical Condition
Amnesty International strongly condemns the attack by unidentified assailants on the leading Bangladeshi writer and Dhaka University lecturer, Dr Humayun Azad, on 27 February 2004. The attack has left Dr Azad in a critical condition. It is believed to be connected to the death threats he received following the publication of his recent novel about religious groups in Bangladesh who collaborated with the Pakistani army during the 1971 independence war.
Turkmenistan: Historian Arrested for banned History Book
Amnesty International reports that writer Rakhim Esenov and two others were detained in connection with Esenov's historical novel, ‘Iventsenosny Skitalets’ (The Crowned Wanderer), set during the period of the Mogul Empire (1526-1803 CE). They are believed to be at risk of being tortured or ill treated.
Kuwait: Researcher Senctenced in Absentia for Lecture
The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN is gravely concerned for the safety of writer, journalist and researcher Yasser al-Habib, who is reported to have been sentenced in absentia by the Kuwait Criminal Court on 9 March 2004 to fifteen years in prison. His case is also said to have been transferred to the State Security Court.
United States of America: U.S. Bars Scientists from Attending Meeting in Cuba
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has informed that at the end of February 2004, the U.S. government sent warning letters to American scientists who were planning to participate in a scientific conference in Cuba. The letters warned that they risked criminal or civil penalties for breaking the Cuba travel regulations.
Saudi Arabia: Academics Held Incommunicado for Criticising National Commission on Human Rights
Three Saudi Arabian university professors and other nine people have been arrested since 15 March 2004, apparently for criticising the government-appointed human rights watchdog. They are reportedly held incommunicado at the General Intelligence (al-Mabahith al-'Amma) in 'Ulaysha, in the capital, Riyadh.
Iran: Student/Journalist Ill-treated in Jail
The Writers in Prison Commission of International PEN is seriously concerned about reports that student and journalist Amir Abbas Fakhravar is being ill-treated in jail. International PEN seeks immediate details about his well-being and whereabouts, and assurances that he is being given access to any necessary medical care.
Russia: Russian Researcher on Second Trial for Espionage
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has informed that, after a series of delays, the second trial against Russian researcher Dr. Igor Sutyagin resumed on 15 March 2004. BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Dr. Sutyagin was first arrested in October 1999 on espionage charges related to research he conducted for a British consulting firm.
Ethiopia: Call to Investigate Alleged Torture of Ethiopian Students by Police
Human Rights Watch urgently calls for investigations by the Ministries of Federal Affairs and Justice into allegations of torture inflicted on University of Addis Ababa students at the Kolfe Police Training Academy on 20-21January 2004. Individuals found responsible for acts of torture should be criminally prosecuted as well as dismissed from employment.
China: Cyberdissident Sentenced to Two Years in Prison
Reporters Without Borders condemned as abusive a two-year prison sentence imposed on cyberdissident Ouyang Yi by a court in south-western Chengdu, for "incitement to subversion". The sentence, according to the international press freedom organisation, was as usual intended to brutally silence a voice that diverges from the Chinese Communist Party line.
Korea, South: Students charged for circulating satirical images on net
Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières -RSF), has voiced shock over the 23 March 2004 arrest and subsequent charging of two students for circulating images on the Internet that poke fun at opposition politicians. One of the students, who uses the pseudonym Kwon, was accused of posting more than 70 pictures on 15 websites during the current pre-election period.
Israel / Palestine: Calls for Investigation Following Killing of Journalism Student
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has called on Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz to open an investigation into the death of journalism student Mohammad Abu Halimeh, who was killed on 22 March 2004 while covering clashes at the Balata refugee camp in Nablus. The organisation said in its letter to the defence minister.
** Please continue to send us any relevant cases involving threats to academic freedom and education rights, for potential alerts.
The Network for Education and Academic Rights (NEAR) is a membership-based, non-governmental organisation which facilitates international collaboration between organisations active in issues of academic freedom and educational rights, and committed to promoting an understanding of, and respect for, the values enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
For more information about NEAR, please visit our website at www.nearinternational.org
For further information please contact:-
Roisin Joyce
Deputy Director
roisin.joyce@nearinternational.org