On the 29th Anniversary of the Law of Collective Killing
SHRC Calls for the termination of Law 49/1980
The Syrian Human Rights Committee (SHRC) has called for the termination of Law 49/1980- which sentences members of the Muslim Brotherhood to death- and to settle all associated files, which have targeted a large section of the Syrian population.
On the 29th anniversary of this repressive law, the SHRC official spokesman called upon the President Bashar al-Asad to abolish this law and terminate it and all its associated files, which have caused huge numbers of victims, detainees and exiles.
The spokesman also added that, “it is neither logical nor just to continue arresting the sons and grandchildren of exiles that were born outside the country and sentencing them pursuant the unconstitutional law 49/1980. It is also illogical to continue suppressing families who are categorised as being the “Muslim Brotherhood”, despite the bitter truth that their fathers have been arrested and killed due to this inhumane law.”
He also added, “This step is an urgent necessity for the head of state to fulfil as it is the head of state that presented the plans for the implementation of this law to the Parliament initially. After 11 days, on 7/7/1980, the parliament agreed to it in a hurried manner and the president approved it the next day. Twenty-nine years have elapsed since the day this unjust law came into place, and the sheer numbers of its victims, from those who were killed to those who have been imprisoned or forced into exile, are too large to gather and count. This is in addition to the division national unity, and the break up of social cohesion which occurred afterwards. It is therefore incumbent for the head of state to put an end to this injustice and sharp division.”
The spokesman also mentioned that many massacres had been undertaken by the forces of the Syrian authorities in which thousands were slayn due to this law, which is like no other in the world, some of the most famous including the Tadmur Prison Massacre, Al-Mashaariqah Neighbourhood massacre in Aleppo, Jisr Al-Shaghoor massacre, Sarmada massacre, and the Massacres of Hama. Moreover, mass killings in the prisons of Tadmur and Al-Mezze and interrogation centres took place constantly between 1979-1996.
The spokesman concluded, remarking that “this law presents a horrible violation to right of life, the political freedoms, conscience and freedom of expression, which are all endorsed in the constitution. It should be put to an immediate end to this killing law.”
Syrian Human Rights Committee
8/7/2009