Seven young men who were engaged in developing a youth discussion group and for having some articles published on the Internet have been detained for more than a year, mostly in incommunicado detention, and reportedly subjected to torture. They are facing an unfair trial before the Supreme State Security Court (SSSC). Their next trial session will be on 17 June, when the verdict is expected. Amnesty International considers the seven young men to be prisoners of conscience detained solely for the peaceful expression of their beliefs, and calls for their immediate and unconditional release.
One of the websites for the poems, articles and cartoons of some of these young men was www.akhawaia.net , which has since closed down. In a posting by one of the detainees, Tareq al-Ghorani wrote: “I believe in democracy, real democracy…which is not something that is the same for all countries. I believe in moral standards arising from Syrian society.”
The seven young men, Husam ‘Ali Mulhim, Tareq al-Ghorani, Maher Isber Ibrahim, Ayham Saqr, ‘Allam Fakhour, ‘Omar ‘Ali al-‘Abdullah and Diab Siriyeh – as well as ‘Ali Nizar ‘Ali who alone was released in December 2006 – were arrested agents of Air Force Intelligence (AFI) between 26 January and 18 March 2006 and face two charges: “taking action or making a written statement or speech which could endanger the State or harm its relationship with a foreign country, or expose it to the risk of hostile action” (Article 278 of the Syrian Penal Code, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment); and “broadcasting of false news” deemed to be harmful to the state (Article 287, which carries a maximum sentence of three years’ imprisonment). All the defendants deny the charges and told the court in November 2006 that they had been tortured while detained. As with all other such allegations of torture made over the years before the SSSC, Amnesty International is not aware of any action being taken by the court or by the authorities to investigate the allegations.
‘Ali Nizar ‘Ali and Husam ‘Ali Mulhim were arrested on 26 January 2006; Tareq al-Ghorani was arrested on 20 February 2006; Maher Isber Ibrahim, Ayham Saqr and ‘Allam Fakhour were arrested on 23 February 2006; and ‘Omar ‘Ali al-‘Abdullah and Diab Siriyeh were re-arrested on 18 March 2006, having been initially detained for several hours on 14 February. Since their arrests they have been almost entirely cut off from the outside world. The detainees were reportedly held in solitary confinement at the AFI Branch in Harasta, near Damascus, until the end of April 2006. Amnesty International has received credible reports that during their detention by the AFI, which has a reputation for being one of the harshest security and intelligence agencies, they were tortured and otherwise ill-treated.
They were subsequently transferred to Sednaya Prison, and finally brought before the SSSC on 26 November. There they briefly met their lawyers for the first time, in the presence of guards, and at least one of the detainees was able to meet with his parents, for about three minutes, also in the presence of guards. At this session each of the eight men denied the charges and said that he had been tortured to make him “confess”. The families were reportedly not allowed to give the young men warm clothing which they had brought to protect them from the cold conditions at Sednaya, which is in a mountainous area near Damascus. Thereafter the detainees have been denied access with their lawyers except for such brief meetings during the trial sessions. At the most recent session, on 15 April, most of the lawyers were prevented from meeting with the young men who were also denied access to their relatives.
The arrested young men are:
Husam ‘Ali Mulhim, aged 22, a student in the Faculty of Law at Damascus University, where he also organised poetry readings; Tareq al-Ghorani, aged 21, an associate engineer; Maher Isber Ibrahim, aged 26, the owner of a shop; Ayham Saqr, aged 30, who works in a beauty salon; ‘Allam Fakhour, aged 29, a student in the sculpture section of the Art Faculty of Damascus University; ‘Omar ‘Ali al-‘Abdullah, aged 21, a second-year philosophy student at Damascus University. He is the son of released prisoner of conscience ‘Ali al-‘Abdullah and brother of released prisoner of conscience Muhammad al-‘Abdullah; and Diab Siriyeh, aged 21, a part-time student.
The released individual, ‘Ali Nizar ‘Ali, aged 21, is a student in his second year in the Business Department of Damascus University. He was released under a presidential amnesty to mark the ‘Eid al-‘Adha Muslim festival on 28 December 2006.
Amnesty International has to date issued eight Urgent Action appeals on the cases of these young men, commencing with UA 41/06 (MDE 24/019/2006, 17 February 2006), and with seven Follow-Up appeals.
Background: Prisoners of conscience, the SSSC and torture in Syria
Freedoms of expression and association have been severely restricted in Syria for decades, aided by the state of emergency laws that have been in force for 44 years. There are no authorised opposition parties or human rights organisations in Syria. Peaceful critics of the Syrian authorities, members of unauthorised human rights organisations and others suspected of being political opponents are at risk of arrest, harassment and persecution by the authorities.
Hundreds of political prisoners including prisoners of conscience remain imprisoned in Syria and scores of individuals continue to be tried in court proceedings before the SSSC, criminal courts or military courts in proceedings which fall far short of providing international standards for fair trials.
Since its establishment in 1968 the SSSC has functioned in accordance with the state of emergency legislation and is designated for the trial of people charged with political and state security offences, which are very widely interpreted. The SSSC has regularly tried and sentenced political detainees, including prisoners of conscience, belonging to a variety of banned and unauthorised organizations including human rights groups and political parties. The SSSC operates outside the normal justice system under the control of the executive branch of the government. Its procedures lack independence and impartiality, and its decisions are not subject to appeal. Defendants in trials before the SSSC routinely suffer from restricted access to lawyers, as well as to relatives and any medical care they may require.
The powers of the SSSC do not extend to control or supervision of the conduct of the security forces or pre-trial procedures, and the SSSC has systematically failed over the years to investigate hundreds of allegations of torture and extraction of “confessions” under duress brought to its attention by defendants.
Even though the Syrian Constitution and national legislation prohibit torture and ill-treatment, and although Syria became a state party to the UN Convention against Torture in August 2004, torture and ill-treatment in Syrian detention and interrogation centres continues to be widespread and to be committed with impunity. Amnesty International has documented some 38 methods of torture and ill-treatment inflicted on detainees in Syria over the years and has received hundreds of reports of cases of torture of detainees; however, the organisation is not aware of a single case in which suspected torturers have been brought to justice.
Among Amnesty International’s most recent statements on these issues see, Syria: New crackdown on government opponents (MDE 24/031/2006, 3 April 2006); Syria: Dismissal of state employees for expressing opinions violates international human rights (MDE 24/045/2006, 21 June 2006); Syria: Another wave of arrests of human rights defenders and civil society activists (MDE 24/038/2006, 17 May 2006); Syria: Beatings of PoCs must end, officials who have perpetrated or facilitated abuses must be prosecuted (MDE 24/008/2007, 15 February 2007); Syria: Amnesty International calls for new and impartial investigation into abduction and killing of Sheikh Muhammad Ma’shuq al-Khiznawi (MDE 24/019/2007, 21 March 2007); Syria: Unfair trials and ill-treatment in detention of peaceful “Beirut-Damascus Declaration” petitioners (MDE 24/022/2007, 11 April 2007); Sentence against Anwar al-Bunni deals another blow to human rights in Syria (MDE 24/026/2007, 24 April 2007).
How can you support them?
One of the ways in which you can support these young prisoners of conscience is by writing appeals in Arabic, English, French or your own language:
– calling on the Syrian authorities to release immediately and drop all charges against the seven men (naming them), since they appear to be based solely on the men’s peaceful exercise of their right to express their beliefs, as granted by the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Syria is a state party;
– expressing concern that they are being unfairly tried before the SSSC, whose procedures the UN Human Rights Committee has stated are incompatible with the ICCPR;
– expressing concern over reports of torture and other ill-treatment of the detainees and over the apparent failure of the authorities to have these allegations investigated, and urging the authorities to investigate the allegations and to bring to justice suspected perpetrators of torture so as to comply with their obligations under the ICCPR and the UN Convention against Torture to which Syria is also a state party;
– and expressing concern that these young men have been held in prolonged incommunicado detention, where detainees are most at risk of torture, and reminding the authorities that the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture has called for incommunicado detention to be made illegal.