<\/p>\n
\nURGENT ACTION<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n \nSyrian activists, brothers Yahya Shurbaji and Ma’an \nYahya Shurbaji, aged 32, was arrested on 6 September from \nThere is no further information on the whereabouts of Yahya \nNo charges are known to have been brought against the men \nPlease write immediately in Arabic, English, French or your \nn <\/span>Express \nn <\/span>Express \nn <\/span>Urge the \nPLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 20 OCTOBER 2011 TO:\n<\/p>\n \nPresident\n<\/p>\n \nBashar al-Assad \nPresidential Palace\n<\/p>\n \nal-Rashid Street \nDamascus, Syrian Arab Republic <\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nFax: +963 11 332 3410\n<\/p>\n \nSalutation: Your Excellency\n<\/p>\n \nMinister of Foreign Affairs\n<\/p>\n \nWalid al-Mu’allim \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\n<\/p>\n \nSalutation: Your Excellency\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 \n \n<\/p>\n \nPlease check with your section office if sending appeals \nURGENT ACTION\n<\/p>\n \nSyrian activists held incommunicado at risk\n<\/p>\n \nAdditional Information\n<\/p>\n \nSince the beginning of the popular protests in mid-March, \nAccording to human rights activists, Air Force Intelligence \nActivists from Daraya have told Amnesty International that \nYahya Shurbaji was first arrested in May 2003 for \nYahya Shurbaji has played a prominent role in peaceful \nName: Yayha Shurbaji, Ma’an Shurbaji, Ghayath Mattar, \nGender m\/f: All male\n<\/p>\n \nEast Mediterranean Team\n<\/p>\n \nAmnesty International, International Secretariat\n<\/p>\n \nPeter Benenson House, 1 Easton Street\n<\/p>\n \nLondon WC1X 0DW\n<\/p>\n \nUnited Kingdom\n<\/p>\n \nE-mail: Eastmed@amnesty.org\n<\/p>\n \nTel: <\/span>+44 (0)20 \nFax: <\/span>+44 (0)20 \nURGENT ACTION<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n \nSyrian activists, brothers Yahya Shurbaji and Ma’an
\nShurbaji, Ghayath Mattar, Mohamed Tayseer Khoulani and Mazen Zyadeh, all from
\nDaraya, a south-western suburb of Damascus, were arrested on 6 September and
\nare being held incommunicado, reportedly by Air Force Intelligence. They are at
\nserious risk of torture and other ill-treatment.\n<\/p>\n
\nhis car by a group of plain-clothed men believed to members of the Syrian
\nsecurity forces while he was on his way to meet his brother, Ma’an Shurbaji. A
\nsource told Amnesty International that Yahya Shurbaji received a call from his
\nbrother prior to his arrest, during which Ma’an Shurbaji claimed he was injured
\nduring a raid on his house by security forces and asked for help. Amnesty
\nInternational’s contacts say that Ma’an Shurbaji was in fact in the custody of
\nthe security forces when he made the call and was forced to do so to facilitate
\nhis brother’s arrest. Ma’an Shurabji remains in custody, but it is unclear
\nwhether he is injured or not. Two other activists, Mazen Zyadeh and Mohamed
\nTayseer Khoulani, were arrested at the same time as Ma’an Shurbaji and one
\nother, Ghayath Mattar, at the same time as Yahya Shurbaji.\n<\/p>\n
\nShurabji, Ma’an Shurabji, Mazen Zyadeh, Mohamed Tayseer Khoulani or Ghayath
\nMattar. However, contacts believe that they may all be held at the Air Force
\nIntelligence branch in Daraya, following a phone call to a family member from
\nan Air Force Intelligence officer claiming the men were in his custody. All men
\nare at grave risk of torture and other ill-treatment and there are fears for
\ntheir wellbeing following information from a contact that, prior to their
\narrest, security forces allegedly told family members they would kill one of
\nthe men.\n<\/p>\n
\nbut Amnesty International believes that they are likely to have been detained
\nsolely for their peaceful involvement in pro-reform protests. Yahya Shurbaji in
\nparticular has played an active role in peaceful anti-regime demonstrations in
\nDaraya since March.\n<\/p>\n
\nown language:\n<\/p>\n
\nconcern that Yahya and Ma’an Shurbaji, Mazen Zyadeh, Mohamed Tayseer Khoulani
\nand Ghayath Mattar have been held incommunicado since 6 September, putting them
\nat grave risk of torture and other ill-treatment, and ask for their whereabouts
\nand legal status to be disclosed immediately;\n<\/p>\n
\nconcern that all five men are being held solely for their peaceful involvement
\nin pro-reform protests, in which case they would be prisoners of conscience and
\nshould be released immediately and unconditionally;\n<\/p>\n
\nauthorities to ensure that all five men are protected from torture and other
\nill-treatment, allowed immediate contact with their families and a lawyer of
\ntheir choice, and provided with any medical attention they require.\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nyour country. Please insert local diplomatic addresses below:\n<\/p>\n
\nEmail address Salutation Salutation
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nafter the above date.\n<\/p>\n
\nthe Syrian security forces have arrested thousands of people and activists
\nacross the country. Amnesty International has received numerous accounts of
\ndetainees being tortured or otherwise ill-treated as well as reports of at
\nleast 88 deaths in custody, in many cases as an apparent result of such abuses.\n<\/p>\n
\noversees arrests in Daraya. Along with the other Syrian intelligence services,
\nit regularly detains people suspected of opposing the government and holds them
\nincommunicado for lengthy periods in detention centres that are notorious for
\ntorture and other ill-treatment.\n<\/p>\n
\nall of those involved in organizing protests there went into hiding soon after
\nthe outbreak of the popular protests in mid-March, and only go out in public to
\ntake part in the protests. They include Yahya Shurbaji, who went into hiding in
\nApril following repeated raids on his house by security forces. For further
\ninformation on the arrests of other activists from Daraya, please see Urgent
\nAction: Protesters at risk of torture after arrest (Index: MDE 24\/041\/2011).\n<\/p>\n
\nparticipating in a silent march against the US-led invasion of Iraq that year.
\nOn 1 April 2004, he was sentenced by a Field Military Court to four years in
\nprison for “attempting to establish a religious organization, involvment in
\nunlicensed social activities and attending unlicensed religious and
\nintellectual classes”. During his detention in Saydnaya prison, Yahya Shurbaji
\nwas reportedly subjected to various forms of torture and other ill-treatment,
\nincluding beatings and sleep deprivation until his release in October 2005.
\nSince then he has apparently been banned from travelling outside of Syria.\n<\/p>\n
\nactivism since anti-regime demonstrations began in Syria in March 2011 and has
\nbeen described by other Syrian activists as the creator of the “rose
\ninitiative”, which saw protesters in the suburbs of Damascus confronting
\nsecurity forces by holding roses and offering them water during demonstrations.
\nHe told Amnesty International on 17 August: “All organizers of the protests are
\nin hiding since the start of the mass arrests in April. We only appear during
\nthe demonstrations and other activities; then we must return to our hiding
\nplaces”. Yahya Shurabji participated in the demonstration calling for the
\nrelease of prisoners of conscience before the Ministry of Interior on 16 March.
\nHe has worked closely with the Local Coordination Committees (LCCs), a network
\nof local committees responsible for planning and organizing protests and
\nrelated activities.\n<\/p>\n
\nMohamed Tayseer Khoulani and Mazen Zyadeh\n<\/p>\n
\n7413 5500\n<\/p>\n
\n7413 5719<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\nShurbaji, Ghayath Mattar, Mohamed Tayseer Khoulani and Mazen Zyadeh, all from
\nDaraya, a south-western suburb of Damascus, were arrested on 6 September and
\nare being held incommunicado, reportedly by Air Force Intelligence. They are at
\nserious risk of torture and other 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-358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358","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=358"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}