In an unprecedented editorial, the highly respected scientific journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, describes the unjust imprisonment of Dr. Thomas Butler. Dr. Butler was one of the original discoverers of oral rehydration therapy which has saved millions of children in developing countries over the past two decades. He is now entering his second year of imprisonment.
He was arrested at Texas Tech University as a bioterrrorist. The arrest was triggered when he mistakenly reported missing samples of plague bacillus, a common infection of fleas and rodents in the desert Southwest. When this transparently ridiculous prosecution fail through, the FBI piled on charges of embezzlement and fraud for financial dispute with his university over overhead charges on his research. This smokescreen persecution has been protested by Nobel Laureates, the US National
Academy of Sciences, the Infectious Disease Society of America and the Federation of American Scientists.
If you are a scientist, or know one, or if you are simply a concerned citizen, let others know about this injustice and protest loudly.
To learn more about this Kafka-esque travesty:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/6/2/183320/8424
http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/42459
www.fas.org/butler
This is my first post here and my apologies if I have violated any etiquette; critical replies are welcome.
