Release Young Syrian Activists

Date Issued: June 13, 2007

UPDATE: Seven non-violent young activists in Syria have been sentenced to long prison terms for promoting and discussing democracy and human rights.

Seven young activists, Husam Melhem (22), Tareq al-Ghourani (21), Ayham Saqr (31), Allam Fakhour (29), Maher Ibrahim Esber (26), Omar al-Abdullah (21) and Diab Siriyeh (21) have been detained for more than one year by the Syrian authorities for being part of an independent pro-democracy discussion group and publishing articles on the Internet criticizing the lack of democracy and freedom in Syria. Some of them were also involved in the creation of an online youth forum. 

Since their arrest between January 26, 2006 and March 18, 2006, the seven young activists have been held in incommunicado detention and have been subject to torture and harsh treatment.

On November 26, 2006, the young activists were brought before the Supreme State Security Court (SSSC) to face charges of “carrying out activities or making written statements or speeches unauthorized by the government that expose Syria to the risk of hostile operations” and “broadcasting false or exaggerated news that could undermine the prestige of the State.”

 The final hearing in their case is scheduled to take place on June 17, 2007 when the verdict is expected to be delivered. They could face up to 15 years in prison.

Show your support for these young men, jailed for expressing their non-violent opinions: call on President Assad to release them immediately and to drop the charges against them.

Background:

For more than one year, seven young activists have been detained by the Syrian authorities for their participation in the formation of an independent pro-democracy discussion group and the publication on the Internet of articles criticizing the lack of democracy and freedom in Syria. Some of them were also involved in the creation of an online youth forum.  All of these activities were completely non-violent.

The seven young activists are: Husam Melhem, a 22-year-old law student at Damascus University; Tareq al-Ghourani, a 21-year-old associate engineer; Ayham Saqr, who is 31 years old and works in a hairdressing salon; Allam Fakhour, a 29-year-old sculpture student at the Art Faculty of Damascus University; Maher Ibrahim Esber, who is 26 years old and a shop owner; Omar al-Abdullah, a 21-year-old philosophy student at Damascus University; and Diab Siriyeh, a 21-year-old student.

Between January 26, 2006 and March 18, 2006, the Syrian Air Force Intelligence arrested the seven young men along with another member of their group, Ali Nazir al-Ali, a 22-year-old business student at Damascus University, who was released in December 2006 as the result of a presidential amnesty.

Since their arrest by the Syrian Air Force Intelligence, the young activists have been held in incommunicado detention and have been subject to torture and harsh treatment. They were first detained at an Air Force Intelligence detention facility in Harasta near Damascus until April 2006 when they were transferred to the Saydnaya prison. The Syrian authorities have forbidden their families and lawyers from visiting them in prison.

On November 26, 2006, the young activists were brought before the Supreme State Security Court (SSSC).  The SSSC is a special court established in 1968 under the state of emergency law. Thousands of political prisoners and human rights defenders have been prosecuted before the SSSC in nearly summary proceedings that are far from meeting international standards for fair trials.

The seven activists have been charged with “carrying out activities or making written statements or speeches unauthorized by the government that expose Syria to the risk of hostile operations, or damage its relationship with a foreign country or expose the Syrians and their properties to vindictive action;” and “broadcasting false or exaggerated news that could undermine the prestige of the State and its financial solidity.” They face up to 15 years’ imprisonment. The final hearing in their case is scheduled to take place on June 17, 2007 when the verdict is expected to be delivered.

The imprisonment of Husam Melhem, Tareq al-Ghourani, Ayham Saqr, Allam Fakhour, Maher Ibrahim Esber, Omar al-Abdullah, and Diab Siriyeh is emblematic of a generalized policy of repression conducted by the Syrian government against the human rights community.  However, through the particularly harsh treatment of these seven young non-violent activists and the baseless charges brought against them, the Syrian authorities are sending a message to young people in Syria, deterring them from becoming involved in the human rights and pro-democracy movement.

The situation of human rights defenders in Syria has deteriorated over the past year. The May 2006 “Beirut-Damascus, Damascus-Beirut” Declaration that called for better relations between Lebanon and Syria was followed by the largest crackdown on civil society since the repression of the “Damascus Spring” in 2001.  A dozen human rights activists and intellectuals who co-signed the Declaration were arrested by the Syrian authorities. Three of the signatories, writer and journalist Michel Kilo, human rights lawyer and activist Anwar al-Bunni, and pro-democracy dissident Mahmud Issa are still detained and were recently convicted and harshly sentenced by the Criminal Court of Damascus. On April 24, 2007 Anwar al-Bunni was sentenced to 5 years on the charge of "disseminating false information likely to undermine the morale of the nation.” Three weeks later, on May 13, 2007, Michel Kilo and Mahmud Issa received three years’ imprisonment for “weakening national sentiment.”

Numerous other human rights defenders and peaceful civil society activists remain in prison. Among them is the prominent academic and pro-democracy advocate, Aref Dalilah, who was arrested as part of the crackdown on the “Damascus Spring” in 2001 and continues to serve a 10-year prison sentence for criticizing the government. In 2006, he suffered a severe stroke and was reportedly denied proper medical care by the prison authorities. On May 10, 2007, activist Kamal al-Labwani, who has been detained in harsh conditions since November 2005 when he was arrested upon his return from a trip abroad during which he met with European and American officials,  received a twelve-year prison term for “contacting a foreign government and inciting aggression against Syria.”
 
In addition, the Syrian authorities have increasingly imposed travel restrictions on human rights defenders to prevent them from pursuing their legitimate activities. Among those who were recently barred from traveling are human rights defenders Mazen Darwish and Fahima Saleh Ousse and environmental activist Abdelkarim Daoun who have been added to a long list of activists, artists and intellectuals unable to travel freely.

Sample letter:

His Excellency Bashar al-Assad
President of the Syrian Arab Republic
Office of the President
Presidential Palace
Al-Rashid Street Damascus,
Syrian Arab Republic

Your Excellency,

I am writing to express my deep concern about the continued detention of  the young peaceful activists Husam Melhem, Tareq al-Ghourani, Ayham Saqr, Allam Fakhour, Maher Ibrahim Esber, Omar al-Abdullah, and Diab Siriyeh. As you are aware, these seven young activists have been detained for more than one year, for their participation in the formation of an independent pro-democracy discussion group and the publication on the Internet of articles criticizing the lack of democracy and freedom in Syria.

The Syrian Air Force Intelligence arrested the seven young men between January 26, 2006 and March 18, 2006. Since then, they have been held in incommunicado detention and have been subject to torture and harsh treatment. They were first detained at an Air Force Intelligence detention facility in Harasta near Damascus until April 2006 when they were transferred to the Saydnaya prison. The Syrian authorities have forbidden their families and lawyers from visiting them in prison.

On November 26, 2006, the young activists were brought before the Supreme State Security Court (SSSC). They have been charged with “carrying out activities or making written statements or speeches unauthorized by the government that expose Syria to the risk of hostile operations, or damage its relationship with a foreign country or expose the Syrians and their properties to vindictive action;” and “broadcasting false or exaggerated news that could undermine the prestige of the State and its financial solidity.”

The final hearing in their case is scheduled to take place on June 17, 2007 when the verdict is expected to be delivered.

These seven activists are being detained and prosecuted for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and freedom of association. Their detention in harsh conditions and the charges brought against them clearly aim to deter them and other young people from getting involved in the human rights and pro-democracy movement.

The imprisonment of the seven young activists for exercising their basic freedoms constitutes a serious violation of Syria’s Constitution and of its obligations under international law.

The Syrian Constitution states in Article 38 that “every citizen has the right to freely and openly express his views in words, in writing, and through all other means of expression. He also has the right to participate in supervision and constructive criticism in a manner that safeguards the soundness of the domestic and nationalist structure and strengthens the socialist system.”

Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) ratified by Syria in 1969 states that “everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference,” and adds that “everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice.”

Article 22 the ICCPR declares that “everyone shall have the right to freedom of association with others” adding that “no restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other than those which are prescribed by law and which are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or public safety, public order (ordre public), the protection of public health or morals or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.”

The detention and prosecution of these seven young men constitute also clear violations of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the U.N. General Assembly on December 9, 1998. Article 5 of the declaration states that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, at the national and international levels: (a) To meet or assemble peacefully; (b) To form, join and participate in non-governmental organizations, associations or groups…” Article 6 provides that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others… (c) To study, discuss, form and hold opinions on the observance, both in law and in practice, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and, through these and other appropriate means, to draw public attention to those matters.”

Your Excellency, we strongly urge you to immediately and unconditionally release Husam Melhem, Tareq al-Ghourani, Ayham Saqr, Allam Fakhour Maher Ibrahim Esber, Omar al-Abdullah, and Diab Siriyeh and all other human rights defenders detained for exercising their basic rights and freedoms and to ensure that all politically motivated charges brought against them are dropped.

Thank you for your attention to these very important matters. I will continue to monitor this case closely.

C.C.
Ambassador Dr. Imad Mustapha
Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic
2215 Wyoming Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008
USA
info@syrembassy.net

Ambassador Dr. Bashar Ja'afari
Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab
Republic to the United Nations
Permanent Mission of Syria
820 Second  Avenue, 15th Floor,
New York NY 10017
USA
syriainfo@syriaun.org