The criminal court (Chamber II) in Damascus issued its sentence today (Wednesday 23/6/2010) against the President of the Syrian Human Rights Organisation, the lawyer Muhanad al-Hassani. Mr. al-Hassani was sentenced to three years in prison, accused of spreading false news which aimed to lower the morale of the nation.

The lawyer Muhanad al-Hassani was detained on 28/7/2009 on the basis of his human rights activities and his documentation of the cases which took place in the Supreme State Security Court (SSSC). This sentence comes as part of a campaign to clamp down on the human rights movement in Syria, criminalizing the defenders of human rights, and imposing extreme punishments on them in order to scare others.

The Syrian Human Rights Committee (SHRC) condemns the detainment of the lawyer Muhanad al-Hassani, the procedures of his court case, and the unfair sentence issued against him, which does not correspond with the justice, the Syrian constitutional and extant laws. SHRC calls upon the Syrian authorities to immediately release Muhanad al-Hassani and all detainees of conscience and political detainees; and to put an end to all forms of repressive arrest.

Syrian Human Rights Committee
23/6/2010