AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
PRESS RELEASE
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Syria’s surge of deaths in detention revealed
At least 88 people are believed to have died in detention in
Syria during five months of bloody repression of pro-reform protests, a new
Amnesty International report reveals today.
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Since the end of 2010, millions of people across the Middle
East and North Africa region have taken to the streets to call for greater
rights and freedom and the replacement of authoritarian regimes. In Syria,
ruled with an iron hand by Hafez al-Assad from 1971 to 2000 and since then by
his son Bashar al-Assad, small demonstrations were held in February but evolved
into mass protests only in mid-March. Since then, the protests have spread nationwide
on an unprecedented scale and with a momentum that shows no sign of abating despite
severe government repression which has seen many hundreds of people killed.
Copenhagen 29 August 2011,
An EMHRN delegation conducted a mission August 22-28 to assess the
situation of Syrian refugees in camps in southern Turkey, and met with
refugees, Turkish NGOs and officials and other stake-holders. The mission has
concluded that while it is appreciative of Turkey’s efforts to shelter the
Syrians fleeing violence in their country, it urges the Turkish government to
grant UNHCR full access to the camps and to allow the Syrians to apply for
refugee status with full protection according to international conventions.
URGENT ACTION
Young Syrian activist Hanadi Zahlout has been held
incommunicado at an unknown location since her arrest in Damascus, Syria, on 4
August. She is at serious risk of torture or other ill-treatment. Amnesty
International fears that she may have been subjected to enforced
For the second time this year, the Human Rights Council met
today to consider the human rights situation in Syria, resulting in the
adoption of Resolution A/HRC/S-17/L.1.
On August
22, a group of lawyers organised a gathering in front of the courthouse in the
Eastern city of Reqaa. Our organisations have been informed that at least 19
lawyers were arrested, namely Messrs. Abdallah Al Khalif, Abdul Razaq Al
Setm, Ashid Al Aly Almoussa, Ali Al Fares, Fahed Al Birm, Farhan Alnoani,
Ghaleb Amin, Mahmoud Aicha, Mahmoud Al Hadi, Mahmoud Al Isa, Mahmoud Al
Tiyaoui, Mahmud Wali, Mohammad Shalash, Oboud Nouheir Al Ourian, Omar Al Aly Al
Khalil, Yasser Ahmad Al Kerbou, Ms. Rana Ibrahim and Ms. Rim
Shanaa (who is pregnant)
URGENT ACTION
Prominent Syrian activist Walid al-Bunni and his 18-year-old
son, Mu’ayad al-Bunni, have been held in incommunicado detention since 6
August. They were arrested while they were in hiding in Damascus, Syria. They
are at serious risk of torture and other ill-treatment.
The
Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the release of Mr. Abdel Karim Rihaoui, President of the Syrian League for
Human Rights. According to the information received, on August 22, 2011,
Mr. Abdel Karim Rihaoui was released without charge by the Syrian authorities,
after eleven days in detention.
24 August
2011
Journalists
and activists in Syria
who pass on information about the country’s unrest to the media face torture
and other ill-treatment, Amnesty International said today, as one journalist
started his second week in incommunicado detention.
For Immediate Release
Syria: UN Team Should Insist on Protection of Protesters
(New York, August 24, 2011) – The UN humanitarian
assessment mission in Syria should demand guarantees from the government that
security forces will fully respect the right to peaceful assembly in areas the
UN team visits, Human Rights Watch said today.