USACBI is republishing the following statement from our colleagues at Scientists for Palestine. We note the ongoing attacks on the right to science – and the right to education – in occupied Palestine and call for the immediate release of Prof. Imad Barghouthi. The ongoing targeting of Palestinian academics, including scientists, poses a direct threat to Palestinian academic freedom and the educational process and underlines the importance of the international academic boycott of Israel. The Scientists for Palestine statement follows:
Freedom for Imad Barghouthi
A violation of the right to science anywhere is an attack to scientists everywhere.
On Thursday, July 16th 2020, renowned Palestinian scientist Imad Barghouthi was detained by Israeli military forces during a routine stop at a military checkpoint outside of Anata. A military court hearing is scheduled for Thursday July 23rd to discuss the case of professor Barghouthi, an astrophysicist at the university of Al-Quds in East Jerusalem. No charges have been brought against him and his lawyer fears that he will be put under administrative detention, an illegal measure commonly used by the Israeli military forces to put Palestinians in arbitrary detention without any charges or trials.
This is not the first time that the Israeli military forces have arrested professor Barghouti, one of Palestine’s most prominent scientists. In 2014 he was placed under administrative detention for two months, and in 2016 he was again detained for six months. In both cases his arrest triggered a significant indignation of the international Scientific community.
Scientists for Palestine condemns the continuous and arbitrary harassment of Professor Barghouthi in the strongest possible terms and calls on all members of the International Scientific community to demand the immediate release of our colleague. The right to science is protected under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (article 27), as well as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (article 15). The violation of the right to science anywhere is an attack to scientists everywhere.
