SYR 002 / 1207 / OBS 169
Arbitrary detentions
Syria
December 18, 2007
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Syria.
The Observatory has been informed by the Committees for the Defence of Freedoms and Human Rights in Syria (Comité pour la défense des droits de l’Homme en Syrie - CDF) about the arbitrary detention of Mr. Jaber Al Shoufie, member of the executive board of the CFD, Mr. Akram Al Bunni, a well known human rights defender, member and founder of the Committee for the Revitalization of Civil Society in Syria and brother of Mr. Anwar al-Bunni, member and founder of the Syrian Human Rights Association and member of the Committees for the Defence of Prisoners of Conscience who is detained since may 2006, and Mr. Ali Al-Abdullah, also a member of the Committee for the Revitalisation of Civil Society in Syria.
According to the information received, on December 9, 2007, Syrian security services began a series of arrests that followed the gathering, outside of Damascus, of 163 persons who have been part to the Damascus Declaration[1]. This meeting resulted in the creation of the National Council of the Damascus Declaration, a collective movement of political opposition gathering political activists, including the Muslim Brotherhood, as well as human rights defenders. The Council is composed of 17 elected members, among which CDF representatives.
On December 9, 2007, in the aftermaths of the meeting, the security services arrested 37 people who were released few hours later. But Mr. Jaber Al Shoufie remains in detention in State Security centres outside of Damascus.
On December 11, 2007, Mr Akram Al Bunni was arrested for his participation in the meeting. He is currently detained in the State Security prison in Damascus.
On December 17, Mr Ali Al-Abdullah was arrested for the same reason.
The Observatory expresses its deepest concern about the arbitrary detention of Messrs. Akram Al Bunni, Jaber Al Shoufie and Ali Al-Abdullah, which seems to merely aim at sanctioning their activities in favour of human rights in Syria. The Observatory also fears for Messrs. Akram Al Bunni, Jaber Al Shoufie and Ali Al-Abdullah’s physical and psychological integrity as an increasing number of human rights defenders have been subjected to torture or ill-treatments by the authorities over the past years.
Please write to the Syrian authorities, urging them to:
***Paris-Geneva, December 18, 2007
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need. The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
Tel and fax FIDH + 33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 / +33 1 43 55 18 80
Tel and fax OMCT + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29
[1] The “Damascus Declaration for Democratic and National Change” was issued on October 16, 2005 by a wide coalition of political reform activists and members of civil society, and calls for establishing a democratic system that respects citizens’ rights, ensures freedom of speech and association, and ends discrimination based on religious or political beliefs.
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