Lebanon: 8 Syrians seeking refuge in Lebanon risk
refoulement
In recent weeks, Lebanon witnessed the arrival of Syrian
citizens escaping escalating violence in Syria. A large number of individuals
living close to the Lebanese border (mainly from the Syrian city of Tal Kalakh)
have fled into Lebanon, finding shelter in the country with relatives, host
families and even in schools.
Syrians fleeing the town of Tell Kalakh tell of attacks
By Amnesty
International researcher Cilina Nasser in Wadi Khaled, northern Lebanon.
Everyone who has fled the Syrian western town of Tell Kalakh and sought shelter
in villages on the Lebanese side of the border is scared. None of the people I
spoke to gave me their names and nor did I ask. At the end of every interview,
each would say: “Do not publish my name.”
A global
response to Syria’s spiralling crisis
Faced with the
news that since mid-March more than 700 people have been killed in Syria,
thousands have been arrested and hundreds remain detained incommunicado and at
risk of torture, signing an online petition can seem like an inadequate
response.
Issued under strict embargo 18:00 BST 26 May 2011
Amnesty International has obtained video footage that points
to a ”shoot to kill” policy being used by the Syrian security forces to quell
reform protests.
The footage,
smuggled out of Syria
by contacts of Amnesty International, shows protesters shot and beaten by
security forces, soldiers conducting a night raid on the ‘Omari mosque in
Dera’a and a mass funeral in Izraa.
Syrian security forces cracked down on Banias residents
after pro-reform protests
A 25-year-old university student tells Amnesty International
of the beatings and torture he and other detainees suffered while held in a
sports stadium after he was seized with his 73- year-old father by security
forces from their home in the coastal town of Banias on 8 May.
Open Letter from Arab Civil Society Organizations to United
Nations Security Council Members
Dear Ambassador
As leaders of 224 civil society organizations from 18
countries across the Arab world, we call on members of United Nations Security
Council to support a resolution calling for the immediate end to the use of
lethal force against protestors in Syria.
EU Syria sanctions must prompt tougher UN action, The EU has imposed an asset freeze and travel ban on
President al-Assad
New European Union sanctions on President Bashar al-Assad of
Syria should prompt the UN and Arab League to take tougher action against Syria
over its violent crackdown against protesters, Amnesty International said
today.
SYRIAN ACTIVIST AND HIS BROTHER DETAINED
Syrian brothers, ‘Abd al-Rahman Hammada and Wa’el Hammada,
have been detained incommunicado at an unknown location since 30 April and 12
May respectively. They are at grave risk of torture and other ill-treatment.
SYRIAN ACTIVIST HELD INCOMMUNICADO
Syrian civil society activist Amjad Baiazy has been held incommunicado since
his arrest at Syria’s Damascus International Airport on 12 May. Amnesty
International believes that he may be a prisoner of conscience, detained solely
for the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression. He is at
serious risk of torture and other ill-treatment.
Lebanon: Stop Detaining Syrian Refugees
At least Ten Fleeing Violence and Persecution detained
since Sunday, Fear of Refoulement
(Beirut, May 20, 2011) – Lebanon’s security forces should
stop detaining Syrian refugees who cross the border into Lebanon to escape
violence and persecution in their country, Human Rights Watch said today.