Upon their arrival at Damascus International airport in the early morning hours of  Friday 17/11/2006, Mohammad al-Hariri and Hussein Nabulsi (Syrian Citizens), and Mahmoud Hasan Shuhaibar and Fathallah Hasan Shuhaibar (Palestinians living in Syria) were arrested by the Syrian Authorities and kept in the custody of ‘Department of Immigration Passports’

The four, alongside a group of Palestinians living in Lebanon and Jordan have been detained in Libya since 1990; accused of being members of a Sufi sect. the Libyan court had issued life sentences against them, however, sixteen years later, last Friday, they were released. During their imprisonment two members of the group passed away, and they are Tawfiq Hariri, who passed away in 1991 due to health complications occurred as a result of the severe torture he experienced at the hands of the Libyan Intelligence, and the elderly Zafir Hassoun (75 years) who died in al-Kufiya Prison in the city of BinGhazi on 15/8/2006.

The rest of the detainees arrived to Lebanon and Jordan, and they include: Mohammad al-Sahili (Palestinian- Jordanian), Abdul Latif Basheer Samara (Palestinian-Lebanese), Tariq Ahmed Basheer Samara (Palestinian-Lebanese), Ihsan Yaseen Taha Ghali (Palestinian-Lebanese), Adil Ahmed Taha Ghali (Palestinian-Lebanese), Adnan Ahmed Taha Ghali (Palestinian-Lebanese), Sameeh Ahmed Taha Ghali (Palestinian-Lebanese), Nabeeh Ahmed Taha Ghali (Palestinian-Lebanese), Ali Ibraheem Mu'ti (Palestinian-Lebanese), Muhyi al-Deen Ma'rouf (Palestinian-Lebanese), Musa Abdul-Hameed (Palestinian-Lebanese), Ihsan Ahmed Basheer Samara (Palestinian-Lebanese).

The Syrian Human Rights Committee (SHRC) requests to immediately release the four who were arrested and help them to overcome the consequences of the long period of detainment they spent in the harsh Libyan Prisons and its unfair courts, which do not respect the honour, right of freedom, religion and expression entitled to the human.

Syrian Human Rights Committee
18/11/06