{"id":355,"date":"2011-09-13T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-09-13T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","slug":"","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/?p=355","title":{"rendered":"SYRIAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST RE-ARRESTED"},"content":{"rendered":"

\nURGENT ACTION<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\nHuman rights activist Mohammed Najati Tayyara, aged 65, has
\nbeen held since 12 May following media interviews he gave about the abuse of
\npro-reformist protesters by the Syrian government. Despite a judge ordering his
\nrelease on bail on 29 August, he was reportedly re-arrested the same day by Air
\nForce Intelligence and beaten in custody.\n<\/p>\n

\nMohammed Najati Tayyara, a retired school teacher, was
\narrested on 12 May by officers of Syrian Political Security, who stopped the
\ncar in which he and a friend were travelling in the city of Homs, north-western
\nSyria. According to a source in Syria, he was referred to a criminal court
\njudge and charged under Article 286 of the Syrian Penal Code for “convey[ing]
\nwithin Syria false news that could debilitate the morale of the nation”. He was
\ntaken to Homs Central Prison and kept in severely cramped conditions,
\nreportedly in a cell with about 300 other detainees and with only one toilet
\nbetween them.\n<\/p>\n

\nOn 29 August a judge ordered his release on bail pending his
\ntrial. However, according to a source in Syria, while in prison awaiting his
\nrelease, he was re-arrested by Air Force Intelligence officers, who took him to
\nthe Military Intelligence-run detention centre known as “al-Boloneh Prison” in
\nHoms. It appears that he was subjected there to beatings to the head and face
\nduring interrogation and returned to Homs Central Prison 11 days later, where
\nhe remains. Mohammed Najati Tayyara requires daily medication for high blood
\npressure and is apparently suffering from prostate cancer, heightening concerns
\nfor his wellbeing.\n<\/p>\n

\nMohammed Najati Tayyara recently gave several media
\ninterviews, including to Al Jazeera and the BBC, about attacks by Syrian
\nsecurity forces on pro-reformist demonstrators in Homs. He publicly called for
\nSyrian President Bashar al-Assad to stop using violence against protesters.
\nAmnesty International is concerned that he may be held for peacefully
\nexercising his right to freedom of expression, in which case he would be considered
\na prisoner of conscience.\n<\/p>\n

\nPlease write immediately in English, Arabic, French or your
\nown language:\n<\/p>\n

\n             <\/span>Express
\nconcern that Mohammed Najati Tayyara may be held solely for peacefully
\nexpressing his views on the actions of the security forces against pro-reform
\nprotesters, in which case he is a prisoner of conscience and should be released
\nimmediately and unconditionally;\n<\/p>\n

\n             <\/span>Express
\nconcern also that his continuing detention appears to be unlawful by breaching
\na court order for his release;\n<\/p>\n

\n             <\/span>Urge the
\nauthorities to take all measures to ensure he is protected from torture and
\nother ill-treatment, and is given any medical attention he needs.\n<\/p>\n

\n \n<\/p>\n

\nPLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 26 OCTOBER 2011 TO:\n<\/p>\n

\n <\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nPresident Bashar al-Assad\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

\nMinister of Defence       <\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nHis Excellency General Dawood Rajiha\n<\/p>\n

\nMinistry of Defence\n<\/p>\n

\nOmayyad Square, Damascus\n<\/p>\n

\nSyrian Arab Republic\n<\/p>\n

\nFax: +963 11 666 2460\n<\/p>\n

\nSalutation: Your Excellency\n<\/p>\n

\n \n<\/p>\n

\nAnd copies to:\n<\/p>\n

\nMinister of Interior\n<\/p>\n

\nHis Excellency Major General Mohamad Ibrahim al-Shaar\n<\/p>\n

\nMinistry of Interior\n<\/p>\n

\n‘Abd al-Rahman Shahbandar Street\n<\/p>\n

\nDamascus, Syrian Arab Republic\n<\/p>\n

\nFax: +963 113110554       <\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n                <\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nAlso send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to
\nyour country. Please insert local diplomatic addresses below:\n<\/p>\n

\nPlease check with your section office if sending appeals
\nafter the above date.\n<\/p>\n

\nURGENT ACTION\n<\/p>\n

\nSYRIAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST RE-ARRESTED\n<\/p>\n

\nADDITIONAL INFORMATION\n<\/p>\n

\nSyria’s various security and intelligence forces have for
\ndecades enjoyed wide-ranging special powers outside judicial control resulting
\nin the widespread use of arbitrary and incommunicado detention, torture and
\nother ill-treatment of political suspects. Since March 2011, reports of torture
\nand other ill-treatment in detention have escalated significantly.\n<\/p>\n

\n \n<\/p>\n

\nSince pro-reform demonstrations evolved into large-scale
\nprotests in mid-March, thousands have been arrested throughout the country by
\nthe Syrian security forces. The mainly peaceful protests are generally calling
\nfor increased rights and freedom as well as to an end to President Bashar
\nal-Assad’s rule. The authorities have responded with wide-scale brutality to
\nsuppress dissent. Amnesty International has received numerous accounts of
\ndetainees being tortured or otherwise ill-treated including reports of over 90
\ndeaths in custody, in many cases as an apparent result of such abuses and
\naffecting those aged from 13 to 72 years. Amnesty International has also
\nobtained some 2,100 names of people reported to have died or been killed during
\nor in connection with the protests since mid-March. The majority appear to have
\nbeen shot by security forces using live ammunition during peaceful protests and
\neven when attending funerals of others killed in protests.\n<\/p>\n

\n \n<\/p>\n

\nHoms has seen repeated large-scale protests followed by repression
\nby the security forces. It has been severely affected by an escalating
\ncrackdown on pro-reform protests, with over 430 individuals recorded by Amnesty
\nInternational as having died there during or in connection with the protests up
\nto mid-August, over 200 of whom died during the first two weeks of August
\nalone. Among the dead are 40 individuals reported to have died in custody, 11
\nof them during the first two weeks of August. On 1 September, Amnesty
\nInternational published an Urgent Action on the incommunicado detention of
\nMohammed Najati Tayyara’s nephew, Mohamed Iyyad Tayyara, also a human rights
\nactivist. He was arrested on 28 August and has since been held incommunicado.
\nHe is believed to be held by Military Intelligence where he is in danger of torture
\nand other ill-treatment. As far as Amnesty International is aware the
\nauthorities have not said why they are holding him, but prior to his arrest he
\nhad been documenting human rights abuses in Homs and passing the information to
\nhuman rights organizations as well as attending peaceful protests see\n<\/p>\n

\n <\/span>http:\/\/www.amnesty.org\/en\/library\/info\/MDE24\/046\/2011\/en<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\nMohammed Najati Tayyara is a founding member of the Human
\nRights Association of Syria.\n<\/p>\n

\nName: Mohammed Najati Tayyara\n<\/p>\n

\nGender M<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\nURGENT ACTION<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\nHuman rights activist Mohammed Najati Tayyara, aged 65, has
\nbeen held since 12 May following media interviews he gave about the abuse of
\npro-reformist protesters by the Syrian government. Despite a judge ordering his
\nrelease on bail on 29 August, he was reportedly re-arrested the same day by Air
\nForce Intelligence and beaten in custody.<\/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-355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355","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=355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}