Scholars at Risk calls for letters on behalf of Bahraini mechanical engineering professor, who “was taken forcibly from his home on March 17th and imprisoned without charge.”

About Scholars at Risk:

Mission

Around the world today, scholars are attacked because of their words, their ideas and their place in society. Those seeking power and control work to limit access to information and new ideas by targeting scholars, restricting academic freedom and repressing research, publication, teaching and learning. The Scholars at Risk Network (SAR) is an international network of universities and colleges responding to these attacks. SAR promotes academic freedom and defends the human rights of scholars and their communities worldwide.

Please consider writing a letter to Bahraini officials to support Dr.Jalil Al-Singace. Details and a sample letter are provided below.

March 21, 2011

Scholars at Risk (SAR) is gravely concerned about reports that Dr. Abdul Jalil Al-Singace, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Bahrain, Isa Town, has been reimprisoned. SAR asks for letters, faxes and emails urging the appropriate authorities to intervene to ensure his well-being pending his earliest release, including ensuring regular access to family, to legal counsel of his choosing and to medical treatment.

Who is Dr. Al-Singace?

According to PEN International:

Dr Alsingace, head of the human rights office of the Haq Movement for Liberty and Democracy, was arrested at Bahrain International Airport on his return from London on 13 August 2010, where he had been attending a conference at the House of Lords during which he had criticised Bahrain’s human rights practices. He was initially accused of ‘inciting violence and terrorist acts’, before being formally charged under national security and counter-terrorism legislation. Dr Alsingace is among four leading Bahraini Shia activists to have been facing charges including ‘the planning and instigation of violence, conducting a wide-ranging propaganda campaign against the Kingdom and seeking to overthrow the regime by force’.

Dr Alsingace teaches engineering at the University of Bahrain and authors his own blog (http://alsingace.blogspot.com/). He was previously detained in 2009 and held for several months on charges of plotting to overthrow the government before being given a royal pardon.

Background

Scholars at Risk has received reports that Dr. Al-Singace was taken forcibly from his home on March 17th and imprisoned without charge, in apparent contravention of rights protected in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Bahrain has acceded. SAR is concerned by reports during his previous detention that he was held without regular access to family and medical care–which is of particular concern given that Dr. Al-Singace is partially paralyzed from poliomyelitis.

Scholars at Risk respectfully urges authorities to ensure that Dr. Al-Singace’s case is addressed quickly and in a manner consistent with internationally recognized standards of due process and fair trial, in accordance with Bahrain’s obligations under international law. Furthermore, SAR respectfully urges authorities to ensure Dr. Al-Singace’s well-being pending his earliest release, including ensuring regular access to his family, legal counsel of his choosing and to medical treatment.

Scholars at Risk invites letters, emails and faxes be sent:

-respectfully urging authorities to ensure that Dr. Al-Singace’s case is addressed quickly and in a manner consistent with internationally recognized standards of due process and fair trial, in accordance with Bahrain’s obligations under international law; and

-respectfully urging authorities to ensure Dr. Al-Singace’s well-being pending his earliest release, including ensuring regular access to his family, legal counsel of his choosing and to medical treatment.

PLEASE WRITE TO:

His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa

Prime Minister

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

P.O. Box 547

Government Road

Manama

Kingdom of Bahrain

Email to: info@mofa.gov.bh

Fax to: +973 1-753-6343

COPIES TO:

The Honorable _________

Ambassador of Bahrain to [YOUR COUNTRY]

[POSTAL ADDRESS]

[FAX]

[EMAIL]

(See http://www.bahrainembassy.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=section.home&id=74 for contact information of embassies worldwide.)

The Honorable _________

Ambassador of [YOUR COUNTRY] to Bahrain

[POSTAL ADDRESS]

[FAX]

[EMAIL]

Scholars at Risk

New York University

194 Mercer Street, 4th floor

New York, NY 10012 USA

Fax: +1 (212) 995-4402

Email: scholarsatrisk@nyu.edu

To view a model letter of appeal, as well as a copy of SAR’s letter, please visit: http://scholarsatrisk.nyu.edu/Education-Advocacy/Alerts-Scholars-in-Prison.php.