Syria
25.06.02
Urgent Interventions
Syria: ill-treatment, incommunicado detention, torture and unfiar trials of political opposition and parliament members
Case SYR 130901.1
Follow-up to Case SYR 130901
Unfair trial/Torture
Geneva, 25 June 2002
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in the Syrian Arab Republic.
New information:
The International Secretariat of the OMCT has obtained new information from the Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Syria (Comités pour la défense des droits de l’homme en Syrie, CDF), a member of the OMCT network, regarding the situation of eight members of various political opposition parties as well as the unfair trial of two parliamentary deputies arrested in August/September 2001.
According to the information received, eight members of various political opposition parties were reportedly brought before a special tribunal, the High Court for State Security (la Haute Cour de sûreté d’Etat), for trial for the following charges: aggression against the Constitution by illegal means, inciting religious deviation and sedition and propagation of false information for the purpose of undermining the image the nation.
According to the information received, one of the detainees, Aref Dalilah, a professor and founding member of the “Commission for the Rebirth of Civil Society”(Commissions de la renaissance de la société civile, CRSC), was beaten in detention. The injuries from the beating began a prolonged period of bleeding caused by an anti-coagulation treatment that he must follow. These comments were gathered during a hearing before the High Court for State Security at the beginning of June 2002. Despite the promise by the Court’s Supreme Judge to order an investigation into the allegations, OMCT fears that this will not lead to any concrete results and that those responsible for the ill-treatment of Aref Dalilah will never be brought to justice.
In addition, according to information gathered by OMCT, new charges have been brought against three of the detainees, Aref Dalilah, Habib Saleh (leader of the National Dialogue Forum) and Walid Al-Bouni (member of the same Forum) following the recording of their conversations in detention; they have since been accused of “attacking the Presidency.”
Also, a sentence of five years was pronounced against two parliamentary deputies, Mohamed Maamoun Al-Houmsy and Riad Seif, following the trial before the Criminal Tribunal of Damascus (le Tribunal pénal de Damas) held during the months of March and April 2002, and which, according to our sources, did not fulfil the necessary conditions for a just and fair trial. According to the information received, the lawyers did not have access to the files of their clients, and the trial was held in camera without public participation. Incidentally, the Syrian authorities prohibited representatives of the CDF from attending the trials, used threats and other means of pressure to obtain statements on the part of the accused, and did not accept any of the evidence provided by the defence.
According to the information received, the conditions of detention were deplorable: characterized notably by isolation and ill-treatment of the detainees, as well as restrictions placed on visits by their families and lawyers.
OMCT expresses its grave concern regarding the torture used by the Syrian authorities against Aref Dalilah during his detention and fears that the perpetrators of these acts will not be brought to justice, and that Aref Dalilah will not receive adequate reparations, including appropriate medical assistance.
OMCT also hopes to remind the authorities of the Syrian Arab Republic of their obligations held in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Syria is a party, and in particular its Article 7: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”; and Article 14: “In the determination of any criminal charge against him, or of his rights and obligations in a suit at law, everyone shall be entitled to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law.” To finish, Articles 18 and 19 pronounce respectively that “Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion,” and that “Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference.”
Requested Action
Please write to the authorities in Syrian Arab Republic urging them to:
1. intervene with the appropriate authorities in order to secure that Riad Turk, Riad Seif, Kamal Al-Labwani, Aref Dalilah, Mohamed Maamoun Al-Houmsy, Habib Issa, Walid Al-Bouni, Habib Saleh, Hassan Saadoun, et Fawaz Tello be allowed to meet with their families and/or lawyers;
2. order their immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges or, if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;
3. guarantee an immediate investigation into the alleged use of torture against Aref Dalilah, identify those responsible, bring them before an ordinary competent and impartial tribunal and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions provided by law;
4. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights laws and standards.
Adresses :
· President Bashar al-Assad, Presidential palace, Damas, Syrian Arab Republic, Telegrams : President al-Assad, Damas Syria - Telex : 419160 presplsy
· Nabil al-Khatib, Ministry of Justice, Al-Nasr Street, Damas, Syrian Arab Republic, Telegrams : Justice Minister, Damas Syrie - Fax: 963 11 224 62 50, e-mail : moj@net.sy
· Dr. Muhammad Harba, Minister of the Interior, Merjeh Circle, Damas, Syrian Arab Republic, Fax: 963 11 222 34 28
· S.E. Nasser Qaddur, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Al-Rashid Street, Damas, Syrian Arab Republic, Fax: 963 11 332 06 86
Please also write to the embassies of the Syrian Arab Republic in your respective country.
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Geneva, 25 June 2002
Follow-up to Case SYR 130901
Unfair trial/Torture
Geneva, 25 June 2002
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in the Syrian Arab Republic.
New information:
The International Secretariat of the OMCT has obtained new information from the Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Syria (Comités pour la défense des droits de l’homme en Syrie, CDF), a member of the OMCT network, regarding the situation of eight members of various political opposition parties as well as the unfair trial of two parliamentary deputies arrested in August/September 2001.
According to the information received, eight members of various political opposition parties were reportedly brought before a special tribunal, the High Court for State Security (la Haute Cour de sûreté d’Etat), for trial for the following charges: aggression against the Constitution by illegal means, inciting religious deviation and sedition and propagation of false information for the purpose of undermining the image the nation.
According to the information received, one of the detainees, Aref Dalilah, a professor and founding member of the “Commission for the Rebirth of Civil Society”(Commissions de la renaissance de la société civile, CRSC), was beaten in detention. The injuries from the beating began a prolonged period of bleeding caused by an anti-coagulation treatment that he must follow. These comments were gathered during a hearing before the High Court for State Security at the beginning of June 2002. Despite the promise by the Court’s Supreme Judge to order an investigation into the allegations, OMCT fears that this will not lead to any concrete results and that those responsible for the ill-treatment of Aref Dalilah will never be brought to justice.
In addition, according to information gathered by OMCT, new charges have been brought against three of the detainees, Aref Dalilah, Habib Saleh (leader of the National Dialogue Forum) and Walid Al-Bouni (member of the same Forum) following the recording of their conversations in detention; they have since been accused of “attacking the Presidency.”
Also, a sentence of five years was pronounced against two parliamentary deputies, Mohamed Maamoun Al-Houmsy and Riad Seif, following the trial before the Criminal Tribunal of Damascus (le Tribunal pénal de Damas) held during the months of March and April 2002, and which, according to our sources, did not fulfil the necessary conditions for a just and fair trial. According to the information received, the lawyers did not have access to the files of their clients, and the trial was held in camera without public participation. Incidentally, the Syrian authorities prohibited representatives of the CDF from attending the trials, used threats and other means of pressure to obtain statements on the part of the accused, and did not accept any of the evidence provided by the defence.
According to the information received, the conditions of detention were deplorable: characterized notably by isolation and ill-treatment of the detainees, as well as restrictions placed on visits by their families and lawyers.
OMCT expresses its grave concern regarding the torture used by the Syrian authorities against Aref Dalilah during his detention and fears that the perpetrators of these acts will not be brought to justice, and that Aref Dalilah will not receive adequate reparations, including appropriate medical assistance.
OMCT also hopes to remind the authorities of the Syrian Arab Republic of their obligations held in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Syria is a party, and in particular its Article 7: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”; and Article 14: “In the determination of any criminal charge against him, or of his rights and obligations in a suit at law, everyone shall be entitled to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law.” To finish, Articles 18 and 19 pronounce respectively that “Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion,” and that “Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference.”
Requested Action
Please write to the authorities in Syrian Arab Republic urging them to:
1. intervene with the appropriate authorities in order to secure that Riad Turk, Riad Seif, Kamal Al-Labwani, Aref Dalilah, Mohamed Maamoun Al-Houmsy, Habib Issa, Walid Al-Bouni, Habib Saleh, Hassan Saadoun, et Fawaz Tello be allowed to meet with their families and/or lawyers;
2. order their immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges or, if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;
3. guarantee an immediate investigation into the alleged use of torture against Aref Dalilah, identify those responsible, bring them before an ordinary competent and impartial tribunal and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions provided by law;
4. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights laws and standards.
Adresses :
· President Bashar al-Assad, Presidential palace, Damas, Syrian Arab Republic, Telegrams : President al-Assad, Damas Syria - Telex : 419160 presplsy
· Nabil al-Khatib, Ministry of Justice, Al-Nasr Street, Damas, Syrian Arab Republic, Telegrams : Justice Minister, Damas Syrie - Fax: 963 11 224 62 50, e-mail : moj@net.sy
· Dr. Muhammad Harba, Minister of the Interior, Merjeh Circle, Damas, Syrian Arab Republic, Fax: 963 11 222 34 28
· S.E. Nasser Qaddur, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Al-Rashid Street, Damas, Syrian Arab Republic, Fax: 963 11 332 06 86
Please also write to the embassies of the Syrian Arab Republic in your respective country.
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Geneva, 25 June 2002