<\/p>\n
\nURGENT ACTION\n<\/p>\n
\nSYRIAN NEWS REPORTER AT RISK OF TORTURE<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n \n‘Adel Walid Kharsa, a 25-year-old news reporter from Hama, \n‘Adel Walid Kharsa began working as a freelance news \nHis family does not know which of the many different state \n‘Adel Walid Kharsa went into hiding when the government \n‘Adel Walid Kharsa made his news reports anonymously by \n \n<\/p>\n \nAmnesty International is concerned that ‘Adel Walid Kharsa’s \nPLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Arabic, English, French or your \n <\/span>Express \n <\/span>Express \n <\/span>Urge the \n \n<\/p>\n \n <\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nPLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 3 OCTOBER 2011 TO:\n<\/p>\n \n <\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nPresident\n<\/p>\n \nBashar al-Assad <\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nPresidential Palace\n<\/p>\n \nal-Rashid Street <\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nDamascus, Syrian Arab Republic <\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nFax: +963 11 332 3410\n<\/p>\n \nSalutation: Your Excellency\n<\/p>\n \nMinistry of Interior\n<\/p>\n \nHis Excellency Major General Mohamad Ibrahim al-Shaar \n‘Abd al-Rahman Shahbandar Street\n<\/p>\n \nDamascus\n<\/p>\n \nSyrian Arab Republic\n<\/p>\n \nFax: +963 113110554\n<\/p>\n \nSalutation: Your Excellency\n<\/p>\n \n \n<\/p>\n \nAlso send copies to:\n<\/p>\n \nMinister of Foreign Affairs\n<\/p>\n \nWalid al-Mu’allim <\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nMinistry of Foreign Affairs\n<\/p>\n \nal-Rashid Street\n<\/p>\n \nDamascus, Syrian Arab Republic <\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nFax: +963 11 214 6251\/2\/3\n<\/p>\n \nSalutation: Your Excellency\n<\/p>\n \n \n<\/p>\n \n <\/span>Also send copies to \nName Address 1 Address 2 Address 3 Fax Fax number Email \nPlease check with your section office if sending appeals \n <\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n \n<\/p>\n \nURGENT ACTION\n<\/p>\n \nSYRIAN NEWS REPORTER AT RISK OF TORTURE\n<\/p>\n \nADDITIONAL INFORMATION\n<\/p>\n \nSyrian security forces have been carrying out widespread \n \n<\/p>\n \nAmnesty International has gathered sufficient information to \n \n<\/p>\n \nUA: 252\/11 Index: MDE 24\/043\/2011 Issue Date: 22 August 2011\n<\/p>\n \n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \nURGENT ACTION\n<\/p>\n \n‘Adel Walid Kharsa, a 25-year-old news reporter from Hama,
\nSyria, has been held incommunicado since his arrest on 17 August from the house
\nin which he was hiding. Amnesty International believes he is at risk of torture
\nand ill-treatment.\n<\/p>\n
\nreporter during the uprising that began almost six months ago in order to cover
\nthe public protests against the government in Hama, one of Syria’s largest
\ncities. He was seized by unidentified security forces from the house in
\nsouthern Hama in which he was sheltering. They asked for him by name before
\ntaking him away, according to relatives who spoke to Amnesty International.\n<\/p>\n
\nsecurity forces that operate in Syria arrested him or where he is being
\ndetained, though unconfirmed information from unofficial sources suggests that
\nhe has been transferred to Damascus, the capital.\n<\/p>\n
\nlaunched an intensive security crackdown in Hama in early July. He knew he was
\nbeing sought for arrest by the authorities as he received several calls to his
\ncell phone from security officials telling him to give himself up.\n<\/p>\n
\nphone out of fear for his safety. His identity eventually became known to
\nSyrian security officials who, at least once prior to his arrest went to one of
\nhis neighbours’ homes to ask about him, making clear that they knew that he was
\nengaged in reporting on the government’s response to local protests.\n<\/p>\n
\narrest and detention is directly connected with his legitimate exercise of the
\nright to freedom of expression and work as a news reporter covering the popular
\nprotests and the government’s brutal security crackdown in Hama. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nown language:\n<\/p>\n
\nconcern that ‘Adel Walid Kharsa has been held incommunicado since 17 August
\nputting him at grave risk of torture and ill-treatment, and asking for his
\nwhereabouts and legal status to be revealed immediately;\n<\/p>\n
\nconcern that ‘Adel Walid Kharsa may be held solely for his work as a news
\nreporter and noting that, if this is the case, Amnesty International considers
\nhim a prisoner of conscience and calls for his immediate and unconditional
\nrelease;\n<\/p>\n
\nauthorities to ensure that ‘Adel Walid Kharsa is protected from torture and
\nother ill-treatment, allowed immediate contact with his family and lawyer of
\nhis choice, and provided with any medical attention he requires.\n<\/p>\n
\nMinister of Interior\n<\/p>\n
\ndiplomatic representatives accredited to your country. Please insert local
\ndiplomatic addresses below:\n<\/p>\n
\nEmail address Salutation Salutation <\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nafter the above date. .\n<\/p>\n
\narrests in response to mass protests calling for Syrian President Bashar
\nal-Assad to step down, which began in mid-March. The arrests have targeted
\npeople perceived to have organized or openly supported those protests, whether
\norally in public gatherings, in the media, on the internet or elsewhere. They
\ninclude journalists, political and human rights activists, and mosque imams.
\nThe wave of arrests has forced a number of activists and journalists into
\nhiding.\n<\/p>\n
\nindicate that interrogators in detention facilities question detainees under
\ntorture on whether or not they have given information about events in Syria to
\nregional and international media outlets.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nSyria, has been held incommunicado since his arrest on 17 August from the house
\nin which he was hiding. Amnesty International believes he is at risk of torture
\nand ill-treatment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=334"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}