SHRC has denounced the unjust and unfair sentence issued against Tayseer Allouni and other detainees of Syrian origin by a Spanish court.

The media spokesman of SHRC said that the trial of Tayseer Allouni did not contain all legal elements of a court.  In addition, the court did not clarify and specify what sort of crime he committed.  In fact, the trial is quite similar to political trials rather than a trial in which the charge against  the defendant is certain, and this is because it contained secret proofs, and no clear proofs against Tayseer Allouni.

The spokesman described the sentence issued by the court, to seven years in prison and payment of a fine, as an unjust and oppressive sentence that has no legal justification.  It also lacks any clear proofs against Allouni, which arouses suspicions that it may have been previously prepared to accuse Tayseer Allouni and other detainees of crimes built upon no clear evidences. This creates a serious precedent  for Spanish justice, as it means that they could be violating the rights of individuals who live in Spain, especially those form an Arab or Muslim background.

The spokesman also confirmed that the sentence against Tayseer Allouni was passed due to his superb media coverage of the war on Afghanistan, and at the same time, it served as a moral punishment for the al-Jazeera channel that Tayseer Allouni works for.

He concluded by calling upon the Spanish justice to withdraw all the unclear accusations that they have issued against Tayseer Allouni and some other Syrian detainees (as they have no proofs), and that they should be released immediately so that they can return to their families.  He also requested that Tayseer Allouni be allowed to continue with his work, and that all those who are interested in his case should stand alongside him to campaign for freedom of media speech and expression, until he is released from prison and all accusations against him (that have no basis) be dropped

The Syrian Human Rights Committee
26/09/2005