URGENT ACTION
ARRESTS SURGE AS PROTESTS CONTINUE
Hundreds of people are believed to be held incommunicado at
unknown locations across Syria, following a new peak in arrests by Syrian
authorities as protests continue. Those held are at serious risk of torture and
other ill-treatment. Hundreds of others who were being held in connection with
the protests are known to have been released in recent weeks.
Those released in April include Bara’ah Kalziyeh, Mohammed
Mounir al-Faqir, Mohammed Darwich, Khaled Sid Mohand, Nawras ‘Awdat Allah, and
Qasem ‘Abd al-Latif. Concerns over the safety of the hundreds believed to be
held incommunicado are heightened by reports of torture and other ill-treatment
from detainees who were recently released. Among the detainees known to Amnesty
International, there is particular concern for the following individuals:
Mohammed Hasan al-Labwani, who suffers from a pituitary
tumour, was arrested from his home on 2 May as part of a house-to-house raid in
the town of al-Zabadani, near Damascus. According to some detainees who were
held with him and released on 4 May, Mohammed Hasan al-Labwani has been
tortured. Mohammed Hasan al-Labwani is the brother-in-law of prisoner of
conscience Kamal al-Labwani.
Political activists Hassan ‘Abd al-‘Adhim, aged 79, and
‘Omar Qashaash, aged 85, were arrested on 28 and 30 April respectively,
apparently for statements they made to the media in support of the protests.
Hassan ‘Abd al-‘Adhim is a lawyer and the Secretary General of the Democratic
Arab Socialist Union Party in Syria. He was arrested at his office in Damascus
by State Security. He reportedly suffers from diabetes, for which he needs
regular medication. ‘Omar Qashaash was arrested in Aleppo and is the leading
member of the Syrian Democratic People’s Party and a long-standing union
activist.
Amnesty International is not aware whether the three men are
receiving appropriate medication and medical supervision or an adequate diet.
PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Arabic, English, French or your
own language:
Expressing
concern about the detention at unknown locations of hundreds of people in
relation to popular protests, and the reported torture or other ill-treatment
of some of those detained;
Calling
for the immediate and unconditional release of all those detained for
peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression and association;
Seeking
clarification as to the whereabouts of all those detained and urging the Syrian
authorities to ensure that all are protected from torture and other ill-treatment
while held, and are granted immediate access to their families, lawyers of
their choosing and any medical treatment they may need.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 17 JUNE 2011 TO:
President
Bashar al-Assad
Presidential Palace
al-Rashid Street
Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic
Fax: +963 11 332 3410
Salutation: Your Excellency
Minister of Interior
Major General Mohamed Ibrahim al-Sha’aar
Ministry of Interior
‘Abd al-Rahman Shahbandar Street
Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic
Fax: +963 11 222 3428
Salutation: Your Excellency
And copies to:
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Walid al-Mu’allim
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
al-Rashid Street
Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic
Fax: +963 11 214 6251
Salutation: Your Excellency
Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to
your country. Please check with your section office if sending appeals after
the above date. This is the third update of UA 87/11. Further information: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE24/016/2011/en
URGENT ACTION
ARRESTS SURGE AS PROTESTS CONTINUE
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Despite the lifting of the state of emergency on 21 April,
the Syrian army and security forces continue to carry out mass arrests,
especially in the cities and towns where large popular protests have taken
place. The arrests have also targeted people perceived to have organized or
openly supported those protests, whether orally in public gatherings, in the
media, on the internet or elsewhere. They include political and human rights
activists, mosque imams and journalists. Amnesty International believes that
many of those detained are likely to be prisoners of conscience, held merely
for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and association by
peacefully supporting or taking part in protests.
Those recently detained and who remain incommunicado include
the following individuals:
Dorothy Parvaz, an Al Jazeera journalist, was arrested upon
arrival at Damascus International Airport on 29 April. According to Al Jazeera,
she flew from Qatar to help cover the
ongoing events. Firas Fayyad, a film director, was arrested on 30 April at an
internet cafe in Damascus. ‘Abd al-Rahman Hammada, a 20-year-old student, was
taken from his home in Damascus on 30 April by security forces who were
searching for his brother Wa’el.
Wa’el Hammada and his wife, Razan Zaitouneh, a human rights
activist and leading human rights lawyer respectively, have gone into hiding.
‘Abdullah Khalil, a human rights lawyer, was arrested in the city of al-Raqqa
on 1 May, apparently for appearing on Al Jazeera TV on 30 April when he spoke
about the widespread arrests and advocated a democratic resolution of the
situation. Ahmed Haji Khalaf, a member of the board of directors of the Arab
Organization for Human Rights was also arrested in al-Raqqa, on 2 May,
apparently for his activities in support of the protests. Human rights activist
Manhal Mahmoud Barish and his two brothers, Ayham and Shadi Barish, were
arrested on 3 May as part of a widespread house-to-house raid in the town of
Saraqeb.
For more than 20 years Amnesty International has documented
the widespread torture and other ill-treatment which is committed with impunity
in Syrian detention centres. The disturbing first-hand reports of torture that
Amnesty International has obtained recently heighten concern for the safety of
the above detainees and others held incommunicado. Two men from the coastal
city of Banias, for example, who were recently released, said that members of
the security forces beat them and many other detainees viciously on the neck
and collarbone with rifle butts. One detainee said that after being stripped
and beaten he was made to lick his blood off the floor. He said that he and
others detained with him had been beaten with sticks and cables as well as
kicked and punched. Held without food for three days in overcrowded conditions
in one detention centre, he said they had to resort to drinking dirty water
from a toilet.
Amnesty International has also received reports that, out of
fear of arrest, a number of other activities have gone into hiding. In addition
to Wa’el Hammada and Razan Zaitouneh mentioned above, Amnesty International is
aware that Haytham al-Maleh, a prominent human rights lawyer, Hind and ‘Omar
al-Labwani, human right activists and children of prisoner of conscience Kamal
al-Labwani, Suhair al-Atassi, President of the unauthorized Jamal Atassi Forum,
Walid al-Bunni, a member of the Damascus Declaration for Democratic National
Change opposition coalition and twice a prisoner of conscience, and Jwan Yousef
Khorshid, a Syrian Kurd and member of the unauthorized Kurdish Committee for
Human Rights in Syria (RASED), have all gone into hiding. In the case of Jwan
Yousef Khorshid, it was reported that Military Security threatened to arrest
his wife on 5 May if he did not hand himself over within 24 hours.
Amnesty International has learned that Mahmoud ‘Issa, a
human rights activist who was detained by Political Security officials on 19
April, has been referred to court. Amnesty International is still trying to
verify which court he was referred to and what charges have been brought
against him.
Further information on UA: 87/11 Index: MDE 24/019/2011
Issue Date: 06 May 2011
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