URGENT ACTION
SYRIAN ACTIVIST AT SERIOUS RISK OF TORTURE
Syrian activist, Anas al-Shogre, has been detained
incommunicado since his arrest on the night of 14-15 May, apparently for
calling for and leading protests in the coastal city of Banias, Syria. He is at
serious risk of torture and other ill-treatment.
According to a Syrian human rights activist, Anas al-Shogre,
a 23-year-old university student, was arrested while in hiding during a
security operation in Banias that started on 7 May.
The Syrian authorities have not said where he is being held.
One of his brothers who is living outside Syria told Amnesty International that
the family learned from some former detainees, who were also arrested during
the security operation in Banias and later released, that Anas al-Shogre was
being held in solitary confinement at the Military Security branch in the city
of Tartus, south of Banias. The former detainees alleged that he was later
transferred to the State Security branch in Damascus. They also informed Anas
al-Shogre’s family that while in the Military Security branch they heard him
scream “I don’t want to live, let me die”, raising fears he was being tortured
or otherwise ill-treated. His family visited that branch and asked for him on a
number of occasions. Military Security personnel confirmed that he was being
held at a security branch, but said they had no right to ask about him while he
was held in such an establishment and refused to provide further details.
The Syrian authorities have not revealed the reasons for
Anas al-Shogre’s arrest, but Addounia, a private TV channel perceived to be
close to the authorities, reportedly announced that the purpose of the security
operation in Banias was to arrest the “terrorist” Anas al-Shogre who leads an
“armed group”. His family and local human rights activists believe, however,
that Anas al-Shogre’s arrest is related to his involvement in calling for and
leading protests in the city of Banias and for reporting to the media,
including BBC Arabic, on human rights violations that were committed by the
Syrian authorities in that city. Amnesty International believes that Anas
al-Shogre may be a prisoner of conscience detained for peacefully exercising
his rights to freedom of expression and assembly.
Please write immediately in Arabic, English, French or your
own language:
Express
concern that Anas al-Shogre has been held incommunicado since 14-15 May, and
call for him to be fully protected against possible torture or other
ill-treatment;
Express
concern that Anas al-Shogre is being held for calling for and leading protests
in Banias and note that, if this is the case, Amnesty International would
consider him a prisoner of conscience detained solely for peacefully exercising
his rights to freedom of expression and assembly and call for his immediate and
unconditional release;
Urge the
Syrian authorities to take immediate steps to disclose the whereabouts of all
detainees held in connection with ongoing protests, including Anas al-Shogre,
and to give them immediate access to lawyers of their choosing and their
families and any medical treatment they need, and to safeguard them from
torture and other ill-treatment.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 16 AUGUST 2011 TO:
President
Bashar al-Assad
Presidential Palace
al-Rashid Street
Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic
Fax: +963 11 332 3410
Salutation: Your Excellency
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Walid al-Mu’allim
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
al-Rashid Street
Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic
Fax: +963 11 214 6251
Salutation: Your Excellency
Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to
your country. Please insert local diplomatic addresses below:
Name Address 1 Address 2 Address 3 Fax Fax number Email
Email address Salutation Salutation
Please check with your section office if sending appeals
after the above date.
URGENT ACTION
SYRIAN ACTIVIST AT SERIOUS RISK OF TORTURE
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Mass protests calling for political reform and the overthrow
of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad started in Banias after midday prayers
on Friday 18 March, when Anas al-Shogre reportedly gave a speech to worshippers
calling on them to take to the streets to demand their freedom. He reportedly
pledged: “I’m marching for freedom even if I had to do it on my own.”
According to reports from Syrian human rights activists and
the Local Coordination Committees in Syria (LCC), a network of local committees
responsible for planning and organizing protests, Anas al-Shogre played a major
role in organizing protests in his city and reporting on what was happening on
the ground to the media. Below are links to two phone interviews he gave to BBC
Arabic and Al Hiwar TV, a London-based Arabic-language channel:
BBC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_Bmi5Fu6EA&feature=player_embedded
Al Hiwar: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuJHhVLlXws&feature=player_embedded
According to Anas al-Shogre’s brother, soon after the start
of the protests in Banias, Anas al-Shogre was summoned by the Military Security
branch in Tartus and was asked to stop his activities. The brother also told
Amnesty International that an officer from the Republican Guard telephoned Anas
al-Shogre and offered him financial rewards if he publicly retracted his calls
for protest, to which Anas al-Shogre responded, saying: “I have no personal
demands; my demands are for the freedom of my country.”
On 17 April, during an earlier security operation in Banias,
Anas al-Shogre responded in a video posted on the internet to an accusation
previously made on Syrian media that he was a “terrorist”, saying, “We are not
armed. Our weapon is our verbal demand for freedom; our weapon is our thought,
pen and camera.” See
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCer6fnz-Kc&feature=player_embedded
On 11 May, during the security operation in Banias that
started on 7 May, but after the withdrawal of army tanks from the city,
Addounia TV broadcasted “confessions” by individuals it described as members of
a “terrorist group” who claimed that Anas al-Shogre, among others, was inciting
people to carry arms and that he “was co-operating with certain TV channels to
provide them with news even if they were just rumours and that he trained a
number of illiterate people to act as witnesses.” See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vborP7bQZak&has_verified=1
Anas al-Shogre’s brother and some Syrian human rights
activists have told Amnesty International, however, that they believe these
accusations against Anas al-Shogre are untrue, on the basis of what they know
about his activities and what they perceive to be the lack of credibility of
those who made them.
Name: Anas al-Shogre
Gender m/f: M
UA: 209/11 Index: MDE 24/030/2011 Issue Date: 5 July 2011