URGENT ACTION
Date: 14 September 2011
Five men arrested reportedly for their involvement with
popular protests in Syria remain detained incommunicado after being arrested in
July and August. Fears for the men have heightened following reports that a
pro-reform activist from the same town was killed while in the custody of the
security forces.
Amnesty International has not been able to obtain any
information on the well-being or location of Khairo al-Dabbas (arrested on 2
July), Islam al-Dabbas, ‘Alaa al-Dabbas and ‘Abd al-Sattar al-Kholani (all
arrested on 22 July) or Majd al-Din al-Kholani, (arrested on 8 August). All of
them except for Khairo al-Dabbas, who may have recently been transferred to
another detention centre, are believed to be held at the Air Force Intelligence
branch in Mezza, an area of the capital, Damascus.
Fears for their safety have gravely increased since Amnesty
International was alerted of the death in custody of another young man from the
same town also involved in the popular protests. The body of 26-year-old
Ghayath Mattar was returned to his family on 10 September, only four days after
his arrest. Ghayath Mattar was also reported to have been arrested and detained
by members of Air Force Intelligence. Amnesty International has now collected
information on 95 reported cases of death in custody.
Please write immediately in English, Arabic, French or your
own language:
n Express
concern about the continuing incommunicado detention of Khairo al-Dabbas, Islam
al-Dabbas, ‘Alaa al-Dabbas, ‘Abd al-Sattar al-Kholani and Majd al-Din
al-Kholani and urge the Syrian authorities to immediately disclose their
whereabouts, allow them immediate access to their families, lawyers and any
medical care they need, and to protect them against possible torture or other
ill-treatment;
n Urge that the
five detainees are released immediately and unconditionally if they are prisoners
of conscience, detained solely for peacefully exercising their rights to
freedom of expression and assembly.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 26 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
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. This is the first update of UA 250/11. Further
information: http://amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE24/041/2011/en
URGENT ACTION
FEARS FOR PROTESTERS AFTER DEATH IN CUSTODY
Additional Information
Since the beginning of the popular protests in mid-March,
the Syrian security forces have arrested thousands of people across the
country. Amnesty International has received numerous accounts of detainees
being tortured or otherwise ill-treated as well as reports of dozens of deaths
in custody, in many cases as an apparent result of such abuses.
According to human rights activists, Air Force Intelligence
oversees arrests in Daraya, a suburb of Damascus. Along with the other Syrian
intelligence services, it regularly detains people suspected of opposing the
government and holds them incommunicado for lengthy periods in detention
centres that are notorious for torture and other ill-treatment.
Activists from Daraya told Amnesty International that all of
those involved in organizing protests went into hiding soon after the outbreak
of the popular protests in mid-March, and only go out in public to take part in
the protests.
Khairo al-Dabbas, aged 52, was arrested by individuals
believed to be members of Air Force Intelligence on 2 July from a friend’s home
in Daraya. His family told Amnesty International that during his arrest his
friend was told that he was being detained for financing the protests in
Daraya. They said he would only be released when his son, 21-year-old Islam
al-Dabbas, who was at that time in hiding, handed himself over and signed a
pledge not to participate in future demonstrations. Islam al-Dabbas is one of
the organizers of protests in Daraya, which have, by all accounts, been
overwhelmingly peaceful, and is renowned for presenting water bottles with
flowers to the army in an attempt to deter them from attacking protesters.
On 22 July individuals believed to be members of Air Force
Intelligence arrested Islam al-Dabbas, his cousin ‘Alaa al-Dabbas, aged 24, and
‘Abd al-Sattar al-Kholani, aged 32. According to activists from Daraya, Islam
and ‘Alaa al-Dabbas were arrested during a protest. ‘Abd al-Sattar al-Kholani
was arrested apparently because he refused to inform Air Force Intelligence
where his brother Majd al-Din al- Kholani, aged 22, another protest organizer
in Daraya, was hiding. Majd al-Din al-Kholani was arrested on 8 August, also,
it seems, by Air Force Intelligence.
Other activists forced into hiding in April include brothers
Yahya and Ma’an Shurbaji, Mohamed Tayseer Khoulani, Mazen Zyadeh and Ghayath
Mattar, all of whom were arrested on 6 September, allegedly also by Air Force
Intelligence. Ghayath Mattar’s body was returned to his family four days later.
The official reason given for his death was that he was shot and killed by
”armed gangs”, but, according to witnesses and video footage seen by Amnesty
International, his body showed signs of beatings and other ill-treatment. For
further information, please refer to Urgent Action: Syrian activists held
incommunicado at risk (http://amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE24/050/2011/en)
and Urgent Action: Further information: Death in custody of Syrian activist
(http://amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE24/052/2011/en).
Name: Khairo al-Dabbas, Islam al-Dabbas, ‘Alaa al-Dabbas,
‘Abd al-Sattar al-Kholani, Majd al-Din al-Kholani
Gender m/f: All Male
Further information on UA: 250/11 Index: MDE 24/054/2011
Issue Date: 14 September 2011
————————————-
East Mediterranean Team
Amnesty International, International Secretariat
Peter Benenson House, 1 Easton Street
London WC1X 0DW
United Kingdom
E-mail: Eastmed@amnesty.org
Tel: +44 (0)20
7413 5500
Fax: +44 (0)20
7413 5719