\nURGENT ACTION\n<\/p>\n
\nSYRIAN ACTIVIST AND 18-YEAR-OLD SON AT RISK<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n \nProminent Syrian activist Walid al-Bunni and his 18-year-old \nWalid al-Bunni and his two sons, Mu’ayad al-Bunni and Iyad \nAmnesty International was informed that Walid al-Bunni went \nThe Syrian authorities have not said why Walid al-Bunni and \nPlease write immediately in Arabic, English, French or your \n <\/span>Express \n <\/span>Express \n <\/span>Urge the \n \n<\/p>\n \nPLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 5 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 \n \n<\/p>\n \nMinistry of Interior\n<\/p>\n \nHis Excellency Major General Mohamad Ibrahim al-Shaar\n<\/p>\n \nMinister of Interior\n<\/p>\n \n‘Abd al-Rahman Shahbandar Street\n<\/p>\n \nDamascus, Syrian Arab Republic\n<\/p>\n \nFax: +963 113110554\n<\/p>\n \nSalutation: Your Excellency\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 \n <\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n \n<\/p>\n \nAlso send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited 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 \nURGENT ACTION\n<\/p>\n \nSYRIAN ACTIVIST AND 18-YEAR-OLD SON AT RISK\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 \nWalid al-Bunni was imprisoned for lengthy periods of time on \n \n<\/p>\n \nHis second imprisonment was for two and a half years from 17 \n \n<\/p>\n \nAmnesty International spoke with Walid al-Bunni while he was \n \n<\/p>\n \nSyrian activists have also told Amnesty International that \n \n<\/p>\n
\nson, Mu’ayad al-Bunni, have been held in incommunicado detention since 6
\nAugust. They were arrested while they were in hiding in Damascus, Syria. They
\nare at serious risk of torture and other ill-treatment.\n<\/p>\n
\nal-Bunni, aged 18 and 19 respectively, were arrested on 6 August by armed men
\nbelieved to be part of the Syrian Political Security forces. While Iyad
\nal-Bunni was later released, no information on the whereabouts of his father and
\nbrother has been made public. A contact of Amnesty International believes that
\nthey may be held at a Political Security branch in Damascus. The family’s
\nlawyer told Amnesty International that he fears Mu’ayad al-Bunni may be
\nsubjected to torture or other ill-treatment to put pressure on his father.
\nThere are fears too that Walid al-Bunni is at serious risk of torture or other
\nill-treatment.\n<\/p>\n
\ninto hiding with his two sons on 5 May after security forces broke into their
\nflat and attacked his wife’s pharmacy. Walid al-Bunni was previously detained
\non at least two occasions by the Syrian authorities, in 2001 and 2007, because
\nof his activism in support of political reform. The family lawyer believes that
\nMu’ayad al-Bunni did not take part in any of the recent public protests
\ndemanding reform and that President Bashar al-Assad should relinquish
\npower. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nMu’ayad al-Bunni were arrested and have not disclosed any information about
\nthem. Amnesty International considers it likely that Walid al-Bunni has been
\ndetained solely because of his legitimate exercise of the right to freedom of
\nexpression and his involvement in peaceful pro-reform protests. It is also
\nlikely that Mu’ayad al-Bunni has been detained solely to put pressure on his
\nfather. If this is the case, they are both prisoners of conscience and Amnesty
\nInternational calls for their immediate and unconditional release. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nown language:\n<\/p>\n
\nconcern that Walid and Mu’ayad al-Bunni have been held incommunicado since 6
\nAugust, putting them at grave risk of torture and other ill-treatment, and ask
\nfor their whereabouts and legal status to be revealed immediately;\n<\/p>\n
\nconcern that Walid al-Bunni may be held solely for his peaceful pro-reform
\nactivities and that Mu’ayad al-Bunni may be held purely on account of his
\nfamily relationship to his father, in which case they are prisoners of
\nconscience and they should be released immediately and unconditionally;\n<\/p>\n
\nauthorities to ensure that Walid and Mu’ayad al-Bunni are protected from
\ntorture and other ill-treatment, allowed immediate contact with their family
\nand a lawyer of their choice, and provided with any medical attention they
\nrequire.\n<\/p>\n
\nyour country. Please insert local diplomatic 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 2011. 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
\ntwo previous occasions. He was first imprisoned for five years from 2001 to
\n2006 after an unfair trial before the Supreme State Security Court (SSSC) for
\nhis activities during the "Damascus Spring", a period following
\nBashar al-Assad’s accession to the presidency in July 2000 during which the
\nauthorities tolerated previously prohibited discussion forums on political and
\ncultural issues. In August and September of 2001 a wave of arrests brought the
\n"Damascus Spring" to an end.\n<\/p>\n
\nDecember 2007 to 16 June 2010 for his involvement in the Damascus Declaration
\nfor Democratic National Change, an unauthorized coalition of political parties,
\nhuman rights organizations and pro-democracy activists, which calls for
\npeaceful, democratic reform and respect for human rights.\n<\/p>\n
\nin hiding on 21 June 2011. He mentioned then that he was focusing on
\n“supporting the injured, organizing the protests and encouraging the
\nprotestors.” Although he was in hiding he delivered a speech to around 30,000
\npeople in the town of Harasta, near Damascus, to encourage them to peacefully
\nprotest and demand an end to the current regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
\nHis tone was positive as he said that they were living in "a new Syria
\nwhere everyone calls for the same values.”\n<\/p>\n
\nalthough he did not attend it Walid al-Bunni had an instrumental role in
\norganizing the National Salvation Conference, a conference of Syrian opposition
\nactivists to discuss Syria’s future which was held in Turkey in July 2011.\n<\/p>\n