NEAR Newsletter August 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 (August 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
Iran: Professor Hashem Aghajari Finally Freed from Jail
Dr Hashem Aghajari the university professor twice condemned to death for blasphemy was released, the 31 July 2004, from an Iranian prison after two years of legal battles with judges and mass demonstrations by students. Emerging from prison the history professor told reporters: "I hope that freedom, justice and human rights will be realised.
China: Uighur Teacher Sentenced to Nine Years for Leaking ‘State secrets’
The Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ) condemns the detention of Abdulghani Memetemin, a teacher, writer, and translator from the northwestern Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. CPJ recently learned that Memetemin, who had actively advocated for the Uighur ethnic group in Xinjiang, has been detained since 2002 on charges of "sending secret state information out of the country.
Belarus: Government Forces Independent University to Close
The Belarusian Ministry of Education informed the European Humanities University that it would terminate the lease on the building in which most of university's academic programs and facilities are housed and that the university must vacate the main building by 5 August 2004. There also are reports that attempts have been made to force University Rector Professor Anatoliy Mikhailov, to resign.
Belarus: Belarusian KGB Expels British Chernobyl Researcher
Dr Alan Flowers, a British professor of nuclear physics, who has studied the Chernobyl nuclear disaster for more than 10 years has been placed on the Belarusian KGB's "forbidden persons list" and banned from the country for five years. Dr Flowers believes his expulsion is a sign of declining academic freedom.
Saudi Arabia: Academics on Trial for “Threatening National Unity”
The trial against academic Dr. Matrouq al-Faleh and writer Ali Al-Domaini reportedly started on 9 August 2004 at an Islamic court in Riyadh. The two intellectuals have been detained since 15 March 2004 for criticising the authorities. The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN considers both men to be held solely for the peaceful expression of their opinions and calls for their immediate and unconditional release in accordance with Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Kenya: Kenyan Exiled Professor Attacked in Nairobi
Kenyan professor and novelist Ngugi wa Thiong'o and his wife were attacked in his home by armed men on the night of 11 August 2004 in the capital, Nairobi. The author is now in hospital after his attackers, demanding money, tortured him with burning cigarettes. An outspoken critic of former Kenyan governments, Professor Thiong'o only returned to Kenya last month after 22 years in self-imposed exile.
South Korea: Korean-German Scholar Sentence Postponed, Not Lifted
Korean-German scholar Song Du-yul, was freed in July 2004 following the Seoul High Court’s decision to sentence him to three years in jail with the term suspended for five years. The Asian Human Rights Commission, however, issued an appeal the 20 August 2004 stating that it is still deeply concerned by Song being prosecuted according to the National Security Law (NSL), which has long been used by the Korean government to suppress people's rights and punish those with differing political opinions, thereby stalling progress towards democracy and reconciliation in Korea.
Russia: Russian Researcher Dr. Igor Sutyagin's Appeal Rejected
The Supreme Court upheld Igor Sutyagin's conviction to 15 years in prison on espionage charges in a case that human rights advocates called a miscarriage of justice and part of an Federal Security Service (FSB) campaign to intimidate academics. Sutyagin's lawyers said they would appeal to the presidium of the Supreme Court - the last possible avenue for appeal - and seek justice at the European Court of Human Rights.
Iran: Student Imprisoned for Publishing Human Rights Article
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) continues to strongly criticise the Iranian authorities for their continued efforts to gag the internet. After the July 2004 trial against theology student Mojtaba Lotfi they have recently blocked access to three pro-reformist Internet websites and arresting some of their contributors and have closed three internet cafés.
** 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