URGENT ACTION
Brother of rights activist held incommunicado
Yassin Ziadeh, brother of exiled Syrian human rights
activist Radwan Ziadeh, has been held in incommunicado detention since his
arrest on 30 August in Daraya, near the capital Damascus. He is at risk of
torture and other ill-treatment and is likely to be a prisoner of conscience.
Yassin Ziadeh, a 37-year-old businessman, was seen being
arrested by three men in plain clothes believed to be agents of Air Force
Intelligence (AFI) on 30 August, near the al-Mustafa mosque in Daraya, in the
governorate of Rif Damashq which surrounds Damascus. AFI is reported to be the
main security agency operating in Daraya, where it has a large interrogation
and detention centre. A released detainee told relatives of Yassin Ziadeh that
he had seen him in the centre and an official of the ruling Ba’th Party spoke
with the family and confirmed his detention. It is not thought that he has been
charged with any offence.
According to his family, Yassin Ziadeh has taken no part in
the ongoing pro-reform protests and his detention is believed to be motivated
by the peaceful human rights work of his brother, Radwan Ziadeh, who is
President of the Damascus Centre for Human Rights Studies. Radwan Ziadeh is in
exile in the USA, having left Syria in October 2007 and his family have been
prevented from travelling outside Syria since February 2008, apparently on
account of his human rights activities. Several other individuals in Syria have
been detained in recent months on apparent account of the pro-reform activities
of their relatives, either as a way of punishing the family or as a “bargaining
chip” to obtain the arrest of the wanted activist.
There is grave concern for Yassin Ziadeh’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 English, Arabic or French, or
your own language:
Expressing
concern that Yassin Ziadeh appears to be detained solely for the human rights
activities of his exiled brother Radwan Ziadeh, in which case he would be a
prisoner of conscience and should be released immediately and unconditionally;
Expressing
concern that Yassin Ziadeh is being held in incommunicado detention and
therefore at increased risk of torture and calling on the authorities to ensure
that he is protected from torture and other ill-treatment and granted immediate
access to his family, legal counsel of his own choosing, and any medical
attention he may require.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 14 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 Foreign Affairs
Walid al-Mu’allim
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
al-Rashid Street
Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic
Fax: +963 11 214 6251/2/3
Salutation: Your Excellency
Minister of Defence
His Excellency General Dawood Rajiha
Ministry of Defence
Omayyad Square
Damascus,
Syrian Arab Republic
Fax: +963 113110554
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
brother of rights activist held incommunicado
ADditional Information
Syrian security forces have been carrying out widespread
arrests in response to mass protests calling for Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad to step down, which began in mid-March 2011. The arrests have targeted
people perceived to have organized or openly supported those protests, whether
orally in public gatherings, in the media, on the internet or elsewhere. They
include journalists, political and human rights activists, and mosque imams.
The wave of arrests has forced a number of activists and journalists into
hiding. Among a number of individuals who have been detained on apparent
account of the activities of their relatives are ‘Abd al-Rahman Hammada,
brother-in-law of human rights lawyer Razan Zaitouneh, who remains in hiding,
and Mu’ayad al-Bunni, the 18-year-old son of Walid al-Bunni, a prominent
political activist and former prisoner of conscience, who is also detained.
Torture and other ill-treatment is very widely reported in
Syria and Amnesty International has published the names and other details
concerning 88 individuals who were reported to have died in custody from 1
April to mid-August 2011. See the report Deadly Detention: Deaths in custody
amid popular protest in Syria (Index: MDE 24/0352011).
Name: Yassin Ziadeh
Gender m/f: m
UA: 267/11 Index: MDE 24/048/2011 Issue Date: 2 September
2011