The Syrian Human Rights Committee has learnt that 24 Syrian citizens from the al-Zabadani area near Damascus whose names are listed in the table below had been arrested in early 2000 for yet unknown reasons. They have not been brought before courts or charged. Some relatives were able to visit some of them after a […]
Follow up the Case of the detainee: Abdel Rahman Rafiq Al-Shaghouri
Following the urgent call issued by the Syrian Human Rights Committee on 17/06/2003, SHRC has learnt today from informed sources that Mr. Abdel Rahman Rafiq Al-Shaghouri was moved to Sednaya Prison in order to stand trial before an exceptional military court. The Syrian security authorities arrested the said citizen because he opened news internet sites, […]
The Syrian Human Rights Committee demands the Syrian Authorities to release Darayya detainees
Informed sources told SHRC that eleven detainees of Darayya case who have been arrested in early May this year are still being held in Sednaya prison near the Syrian capital Damascus. They have been arrested because they have agreed to start a programme to cleanse their town, to offer advice to their townspeople to stop […]
The release of Mr. Maher Arar
The Syrian Human Rights Committee (SHRC) has learnt that the Syrian authorities handed Mr. Maher Arar to the Canadian Embassy in Damascus yesterday evening (Sunday 5/10/2003). He is due to arrive in Canada this evening following a year of ordeal in the Syrian prisons. Maher Arar, a Syrian citizen by birth, and a naturalized […]
Urgent Call to release Arwad Al-Buchi
The Syrian Human Rights Committee (SHRC) has been informed by well informed sources in Damascus that Mr. Arwad Mohammed Izat Al-Buchi , a Syrian national from Damascus (1958), and a Canadian naturalized citizen has been held in Syrian prisons since 02/07/2002. Arwad left Jeddah (K.S.A.) where he worked and lived to Damascus using his […]
Urgent Appeal to Release Three Pilots Detained Following The End of Their Long Prison Sentence
SHCR has been informed that earlier this year (2002), three pilots were informed by the Sednaya Prison Authority that they will be released upon finishing their twenty-year sentence. The three pilots are namely: Mohammad Rafeeq Omar Al-Hammami, Mahmood Ahmad Hamdo Kiki, and Mohammad Bashar Al-Ashi. However, the Syrian Air Force Intelligence apparatus expressed reservations about […]
Amnesty International Annual Report 2002 on Syria
Syrian Arab Republic Head of state: Bashar al-Assad Head of government: Muhammad Mustafa Miro Capital: Damascus Population: 16.6 million Official language: Arabic Death penalty: retentionist Scores of political prisoners, including prisoners of conscience, were released during 2001, most as a result of a presidential amnesty. Dozens of people, including prisoners of conscience, were arrested during […]
Amnesty International: Syria – Smothering freedom of expression: the detention of peaceful critics
INTRODUCTION One of the major concerns of Amnesty International featured in this report is the apparent surge of politically motivated arbitrary arrests in Syria towards the end of 2000, which have included members of parliament, prominent opposition figures, and other activists in civil society groups and the human rights movement. This report raises the cases […]
Amnesty International Annual Report on Syria Covering events from January – December 2002
Syrian Arab Republic Head of state: Bashar al-Assad Head of government: Muhammad Mustafa Miro Capital: Damascus Scores of people were arrested during the year for political reasons, including Syrian exiles who had voluntarily returned and others suspected of membership of unauthorized political groups. There was an increase in the repression of human rights defenders […]