Urgent Action

Young Syrian man Mohamad Nooh was arrested on 5 October during a demonstration in Daraya, a suburb of Damascus, Syria. He has been held incommunicado since his arrest in conditions amounting to an enforced disappearance. Amnesty International fears for his health as he suffers from liver cirrhosis and needs medical care.

Mohamad Nooh, born in 1992, was arrested during a pro-reform demonstration in the streets of Daraya, his hometown. According to information received by Amnesty International, the arrest was conducted by members of the Air Force Intelligence, who arrived in marked cars. His current whereabouts are unknown and his family is too afraid to contact the Air Force Intelligence branch to ask about him, and is convinced that they would not receive any information.

Amnesty International believes that he is at serious risk as he suffers from liver cirrhosis and requires regular medication, as well as a special diet. Friends stated that he was not carrying any medication when he was arrested and it is unclear whether he is receiving adequate medical care. Fears for his well-being are heightened as a number of released detainees held during the ongoing unrest in Syria have reported that torture and other ill-treatment is widely used by security forces.

The exact reasons for his arrest are unknown. Although he did not have a leadership role in the organization of demonstrations in Daraya, Mohamad Nooh may have been targeted because of his regular attendance at the protests. If this is the case, Amnesty International would consider him to be a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression.

Please write immediately in Arabic, English or your own language:

• Expressing concern that Mohamad Nooh is being held incommunicado in conditions amounting to an enforced disappearance and asking for information on his whereabouts, the reason for his arrest and his legal status;
• Calling for him to be protected from torture and other ill-treatment, allowed contact with his family and a lawyer of his choice, and provided with regular medication and any medical care he requires;
• Expressing concern that Mohamad Nooh may be detained solely for peacefully exercising his rights to freedom of expression and assembly and noting that, if this is the case, Amnesty International would consider him to be a prisoner of conscience and call for his immediate and unconditional release;
• Urging the Syrian authorities to take immediate steps to name and disclose the whereabouts of all political detainees and to give them immediate access to lawyers of their choosing and their families, and to safeguard them from torture and other ill-treatment.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 24 NOVEMBER 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
YOUNG SYRIAN PROTESTER HELD INCOMMUNICADO
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 over 130 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 subjecting detainees to torture and other ill-treatment both as a means to obtain a “confession” and as a way of punishing those who protest to intimidate others into not joining them.

One detained activist from Daraya, Ghayath Mattar, was arrested along with a number of other young protesters on 6 September. His 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, AI index: MDE 24 050 2011 (http://amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE24/050/2011/en) and Urgent Action: Further information: Death in custody of Syrian activist, AI index: MDE 24 052 2011  (http://amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE24/052/2011/en).

Name: Mohamad Nooh
Gender m/f: M