<\/p>\n
\nJOINT \nSYRIA: \nCopenhagen, \n Numerous \n On August \n On August \n In the last \n The \n More \nFor \n· \n· \n· \n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On August
\nPRESS RELEASE<\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p>\n
\nEscalation of acts of harassment and arbitrary arrests of lawyers<\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p>\n
\nGeneva, Paris, August 25, 2011. The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network
\n(EMHRN) and the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a
\njoint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the
\nWorld Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), strongly condemn the continuous
\nharassment and the multiplication of arbitrary arrests and assaults of lawyers
\nin Syria, while the country remains the theatre of massive human rights
\nviolations. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\ngatherings have recently been organised by groups of lawyers across the country
\nto demand the end of the repression of peaceful demonstrators and the respect
\nof human rights and democratic principles. In most cases, the security
\napparatus and the pro-regime “chabiha<\/em>” militias have tried to stop
\ngatherings, attacking participants and conducting arbitrary
\narrests. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\n22, a group of lawyers organised a gathering in front of the courthouse in the
\nEastern city of Reqaa. Our organisations have been informed that at least 19
\nlawyers were arrested, namely Messrs. Abdallah Al Khalif, Abdul Razaq Al
\nSetm, Ashid Al Aly Almoussa, Ali Al Fares, Fahed Al Birm, Farhan Alnoani,
\nGhaleb Amin, Mahmoud Aicha, Mahmoud Al Hadi, Mahmoud Al Isa, Mahmoud Al
\nTiyaoui, Mahmud Wali, Mohammad Shalash, Oboud Nouheir Al Ourian, Omar Al Aly Al
\nKhalil, Yasser Ahmad Al Kerbou<\/strong>, Ms. Rana Ibrahim<\/strong> and Ms. Rim
\nShanaa<\/strong> (who is pregnant), in addition to the lawyer and human rights
\nactivist Abdullah Al Khalil<\/strong>. According to information received at the
\ntime of publication, while Ms. Rana Ibrahim and Ms. Rim Shanaa were released on
\nAugust 24, the rest of the lawyers remained detained incommunicado. Our
\norganisations consider that there is a high risk that these persons be
\nsubjected to ill-treatment or torture.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\n23, lawyers in several major cities organised gatherings in front of
\ncourthouses and local offices of the Syrian Bar Association in order to condemn
\nthe arbitrary arrests and abuses committed by members of the security apparatus
\nagainst lawyers, and to criticise the lack of independence of the Syrian Bar
\nAssociation. Sit-ins were notably held in Damascus, Soueida, Hassakeh and
\nAleppo. In Hassakeh, several lawyers, including Moustafa Osso<\/strong>, Chairman
\nof the Kurdish organisation for human rights “DAD”, were assaulted in the
\npresence of the President of the Hassakeh Branch of the Syrian Bar Association.
\nIn the evening of the same day, lawyer and human rights activist Mohammed
\nIssam Zaghloul<\/strong> was arrested in Damascus. It is believed that his arrest
\nfollows his participation in the sit-in held in front of the Damascus Bar
\nAssociation. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nthree months, more than 80 lawyers have been subjected to arbitrary arrests due
\nto their peaceful exercise of freedom of expression and freedom of assembly.
\nNevertheless, lawyers contacted by our organisations corroboratorily indicate
\nthat the Syrian Bar Association has consistently failed to bring support to its
\nmembers though imprisoned or abused by the security apparatus. Our
\norganisations condemn this repression and fear that it merely aim at
\nsanctioning their activities in favour of human rights in contradiction with
\nthe provisions of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders
\n(1998). We recall that the “right to hold opinion without interference” and the
\n“right to peaceful assembly” are guaranteed by the International Covenant on
\nCivil and Political Rights (Articles 19 and 21), to which Syria is a state
\nparty. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nObservatory and the EMHRN urge the Syrian authorities to respect in all circumstances
\nthe integrity of lawyers, to grant them unrestricted access to courtrooms and
\ncourthouses, to respect the right of lawyers to freedoms of expression and
\npeaceful demonstration and to put an end to all forms of harassment or measures
\nof intimidation, including disciplinary procedures arbitrarily undertaken by
\nthe Bar Association against lawyers. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\ngenerally, our organisations vehemently denounce the serious human rights
\nviolations committed against the demonstrators by the Syrian authorities since
\nthe beginning of the protest movement.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nfurther information, please contact:<\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p>\n
\nEMHRN: Mathieu Routier: +33 6 87 02 02 70<\/strong><\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nFIDH: Arthur Manet: + 33 1 43 55 25 18<\/strong><\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nOMCT: Andrea Meraz: + 41 22 809 49 39<\/strong><\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\n22, a group of lawyers organised a gathering in front of the courthouse in the
\nEastern city of Reqaa. Our organisations have been informed that at least 19
\nlawyers were arrested, namely Messrs. Abdallah Al Khalif, Abdul Razaq Al
\nSetm, Ashid Al Aly Almoussa, Ali Al Fares, Fahed Al Birm, Farhan Alnoani,
\nGhaleb Amin, Mahmoud Aicha, Mahmoud Al Hadi, Mahmoud Al Isa, Mahmoud Al
\nTiyaoui, Mahmud Wali, Mohammad Shalash, Oboud Nouheir Al Ourian, Omar Al Aly Al
\nKhalil, Yasser Ahmad Al Kerbou<\/strong>, Ms. Rana Ibrahim<\/strong> and Ms. Rim
\nShanaa<\/strong> (who is pregnant)<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340","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\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=340"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}