URGENT ACTION
Syrian activists, brothers Yahya Shurbaji and Ma’an
Shurbaji, Ghayath Mattar, Mohamed Tayseer Khoulani and Mazen Zyadeh, all from
Daraya, a south-western suburb of Damascus, were arrested on 6 September and
are being held incommunicado, reportedly by Air Force Intelligence. They are at
serious risk of torture and other ill-treatment.
Yahya Shurbaji, aged 32, was arrested on 6 September from
his car by a group of plain-clothed men believed to members of the Syrian
security forces while he was on his way to meet his brother, Ma’an Shurbaji. A
source told Amnesty International that Yahya Shurbaji received a call from his
brother prior to his arrest, during which Ma’an Shurbaji claimed he was injured
during a raid on his house by security forces and asked for help. Amnesty
International’s contacts say that Ma’an Shurbaji was in fact in the custody of
the security forces when he made the call and was forced to do so to facilitate
his brother’s arrest. Ma’an Shurabji remains in custody, but it is unclear
whether he is injured or not. Two other activists, Mazen Zyadeh and Mohamed
Tayseer Khoulani, were arrested at the same time as Ma’an Shurbaji and one
other, Ghayath Mattar, at the same time as Yahya Shurbaji.
There is no further information on the whereabouts of Yahya
Shurabji, Ma’an Shurabji, Mazen Zyadeh, Mohamed Tayseer Khoulani or Ghayath
Mattar. However, contacts believe that they may all be held at the Air Force
Intelligence branch in Daraya, following a phone call to a family member from
an Air Force Intelligence officer claiming the men were in his custody. All men
are at grave risk of torture and other ill-treatment and there are fears for
their wellbeing following information from a contact that, prior to their
arrest, security forces allegedly told family members they would kill one of
the men.
No charges are known to have been brought against the men
but Amnesty International believes that they are likely to have been detained
solely for their peaceful involvement in pro-reform protests. Yahya Shurbaji in
particular has played an active role in peaceful anti-regime demonstrations in
Daraya since March.
Please write immediately in Arabic, English, French or your
own language:
n Express
concern that Yahya and Ma’an Shurbaji, Mazen Zyadeh, Mohamed Tayseer Khoulani
and Ghayath Mattar have been held incommunicado since 6 September, putting them
at grave risk of torture and other ill-treatment, and ask for their whereabouts
and legal status to be disclosed immediately;
n Express
concern that all five men are being held solely for their peaceful involvement
in pro-reform protests, in which case they would be prisoners of conscience and
should be released immediately and unconditionally;
n Urge the
authorities to ensure that all five men are protected from torture and other
ill-treatment, allowed immediate contact with their families and a lawyer of
their choice, and provided with any medical attention they require.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 20 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.
URGENT ACTION
Syrian activists held incommunicado at risk
Additional Information
Since the beginning of the popular protests in mid-March,
the Syrian security forces have arrested thousands of people and activists
across the country. Amnesty International has received numerous accounts of
detainees being tortured or otherwise ill-treated as well as reports of at
least 88 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. 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 have told Amnesty International that
all of those involved in organizing protests there 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. They include Yahya Shurbaji, who went into hiding in
April following repeated raids on his house by security forces. For further
information on the arrests of other activists from Daraya, please see Urgent
Action: Protesters at risk of torture after arrest (Index: MDE 24/041/2011).
Yahya Shurbaji was first arrested in May 2003 for
participating in a silent march against the US-led invasion of Iraq that year.
On 1 April 2004, he was sentenced by a Field Military Court to four years in
prison for “attempting to establish a religious organization, involvment in
unlicensed social activities and attending unlicensed religious and
intellectual classes”. During his detention in Saydnaya prison, Yahya Shurbaji
was reportedly subjected to various forms of torture and other ill-treatment,
including beatings and sleep deprivation until his release in October 2005.
Since then he has apparently been banned from travelling outside of Syria.
Yahya Shurbaji has played a prominent role in peaceful
activism since anti-regime demonstrations began in Syria in March 2011 and has
been described by other Syrian activists as the creator of the “rose
initiative”, which saw protesters in the suburbs of Damascus confronting
security forces by holding roses and offering them water during demonstrations.
He told Amnesty International on 17 August: “All organizers of the protests are
in hiding since the start of the mass arrests in April. We only appear during
the demonstrations and other activities; then we must return to our hiding
places”. Yahya Shurabji participated in the demonstration calling for the
release of prisoners of conscience before the Ministry of Interior on 16 March.
He has worked closely with the Local Coordination Committees (LCCs), a network
of local committees responsible for planning and organizing protests and
related activities.
Name: Yayha Shurbaji, Ma’an Shurbaji, Ghayath Mattar,
Mohamed Tayseer Khoulani and Mazen Zyadeh
Gender m/f: All male
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