URGENT ACTION
HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST DETAINED IN SYRIA
Syrian human rights activist Mohamed Iyyad Tayyara
has been held incommunicado since his arrest from his flat in the city of Homs,
western Syria, on 28 August 2011. He is at serious risk of torture and other
ill-treatment.
According to a fellow Syrian human rights activist, Mohamed
Iyyad Tayyara, aged 42, was taken in his pyjamas from his flat on the evening
of 28 August by several armed men who introduced themselves as members of the
army. A few hours later the family learned through the mayor of Homs that
Mohamed Iyyad Tayyara was being detained in the Military Intelligence branch in
Homs. The following day, a relative of his who holds a high-ranking position in
the government went to the branch and, although not able to see or speak to
Mohamed Iyyad Tayyara, managed to have some clothes passed to him.
As far as Amnesty International is aware, the Syrian
authorities have not said why Mohamed Iyyad Tayyara was arrested and have not
disclosed any information about his legal status or wellbeing. Mohamed Iyyad Tayyara
has been documenting human rights violations that have occurred in Homs,
passing this information to human rights organizations including Amnesty
International, and has been involved in peaceful pro-reform protests. Amnesty
International is concerned that this is the reason behind his arrest and, if
so, would consider him a prisoner of conscience detained solely for exercising
his rights to freedom of expression and assembly and call for his immediate and
unconditional release.
There is grave concern for Mohamed Iyyad Tayyara’s safety,
as a number of released detainees who were held during the ongoing unrest in
Syria have reported that torture and other ill-treatment are widely used both
as means to obtain a “confession” and as a way of punishing those who protest
to intimidate others into not joining them.
Please write immediately in Arabic, English, French or your
own language:
–
Expressing concern that
Mohamed Iyyad Tayyara has been held incommunicado since 28 August, putting him
at grave risk of torture and other ill-treatment;
–
Expressing concern that
Mohamed Iyyad Tayyara is being held solely for his peaceful human rights
activities, in which case he would be a prisoner of conscience and should be
released immediately and unconditionally;
–
Urging the authorities to
ensure that Mohamed Iyyad Tayyara is protected from torture and other
ill-treatment, allowed immediate contact with his family and a lawyer of his
choice, and provided with any medical attention he may require.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 13 OCTOBER 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 Defence
His Excellency General Dawood Rajiha
Ministry of Defence
Omayyad Square
Damascus
Syrian Arab Republic
Fax: +963 11 666 2460
Salutation: Your
Excellency
And copies to:
Minister of Interior
His Excellency Major General Mohamad Ibrahim al-Shaar
Ministry of Interior
‘Abd al-Rahman Shahbandar Street
Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic
Fax: +963 113110554
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
HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST DETAINED IN SYRIA
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Pro-reform demonstrations began in Syria in February 2011
and evolved into mass protests in mid-March. Since then, the protests, which
are generally calling for greater rights and freedom and an end to the regime
of President Bashar al-Assad, 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. The protests have
been largely peaceful, yet the Syrian authorities have responded in the most
brutal manner in their efforts to suppress them. The security forces have
repeatedly used grossly excessive force, using snipers to shoot into crowds of
peaceful protesters and deploying army tanks to shell residential areas while
seeking to justify such force on the pretext that the government is under
attack by armed gangs. Amnesty International has obtained the names of more
than 1,900 people reported to have died or been killed during or in connection
with the protests since mid-March; many are believed to have been shot by
security forces using live ammunition while participating in peaceful protests
or attending funerals of people killed in earlier protests.
Thousands of other people have been arrested, with many held
incommunicado at unknown locations at which torture and other ill-treatment are
reported to be rife. At least 88 men died in detention in highly suspicious
circumstances during the period from 1 April and 15 August 2011. In at least 52
of these cases, there is evidence that torture caused or contributed to the
deaths, a concern exacerbated by reports of widespread torture in detention
centres in recent months. Some of the dead, who include children, were also
mutilated either before or after death in particularly grotesque ways
apparently intended to strike terror into the families to whom their corpses
were returned. The victims in all cases appear to have been detained in the
context of the protests, though the circumstances of their arrest are often
hazy, and to have died while held in the custody of the security forces in
prisons or other places of detention, both recognized and unrecognized, or
after being removed to hospitals while they remained in custody. Some clearly
suffered gunshot wounds suggesting that they may have been victims of
extrajudicial executions. Many of the deaths became known only when the
victims’ bodies were handed to their families by the authorities or families
were contacted and told to collect their relatives’ bodies from the morgue.
Syria has a history of high levels of deaths in custody, including many cases
where torture or other ill-treatment is alleged to have caused or contributed
to the deaths.
Name: Mohamed Iyyad Tayyara
Gender m/f: Male
UA: 264/11 Index: MDE 24/046/2011 Issue Date: 1 September
2011