<\/p>\n
\nPUBLIC STATEMENT\n<\/p>\n
\nDate: 23 September 2011\n<\/p>\n
\n Amnesty International has called on the Syrian Bar
\nAssociation to end disciplinary proceedings instigated against Syrian Kurdish
\nhuman rights lawyer Mustafa Kheder Osso as they appear to be aimed at
\npenalizing him for expressing political views in a TV interview and taking part
\nin a protest.\n<\/p>\n
\n \n<\/p>\n
\nAccording to a decision that was sent to him on 18
\nSeptember, a copy of which has been obtained by Amnesty International, Mustafa
\nOsso has been referred to a disciplinary council of the branch of the Bar
\nAssociation in al-Hasakah, a city in northern Syria. His first hearing is
\nscheduled for 2 October.\n<\/p>\n
\n <\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nIn a letter sent yesterday to Nizar Skaf, President of the \n \n<\/p>\n \nBoth actions were seen by the al-Hasakah branch as \n \n<\/p>\n \nMustafa Osso, who is also the President of the unauthorized \n \n<\/p>\n \nAmnesty International’s concerns about the case of Mustafa Osso \n \n<\/p>\n \n“All human rights activists, especially those working in \n \n<\/p>\n \nAmnesty International urges the Syrian Bar Association not \n \n<\/p>\n \nFreedoms of expression, association and assembly continue to \nAMNESTY INTERNATIONAL <\/strong>\n<\/p>\n \nPUBLIC STATEMENT<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n \nDate: 23 September 2011<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n \nAmnesty International has called on the Syrian Bar
\nSyrian Bar Association, Amnesty International raised concerns that Mustafa Osso
\nis being disciplined principally for giving an interview to Al Jazeera during
\nwhich he made statements calling into question the legitimacy of the Syrian
\nPresident, as well as other statements that, according to the referral
\ndecision, harmed the state’s “sovereignty and solemnity”, and for taking part
\nin a protest on 26 July in front of a court building in al-Hasakah calling for
\nthe release of political prisoners.\n<\/p>\n
\nviolations of the Legal Profession Law No. 30 of 2010 and the Bar Association’s
\nrules of procedure, on the basis that a lawyer must not make any statements
\nwithout the prior approval of the relevant authorities and must perform their
\nprofession through legal means and within the scope of their duties, which are
\nto legally represent and defend individuals before courts after obtaining the
\nofficial power of attorney.\n<\/p>\n
\nKurdish Organization for the Defence of Human Rights and Public Freedoms in
\nSyria (DAD), sees the referral decision as politically motivated. “This
\ndecision is a clear indication of the constant deterioration of the status of
\nhuman rights in Syria,” He told Amnesty International on 20 September.\n<\/p>\n
\nare heightened in light of the outcome of previous disciplinary proceedings
\ntaken by the Bar Association against other lawyers known for their human rights
\nwork, in particular Muhannad al-Hassani, who in 2009 was banned for life from
\npractising law on grounds that explicitly related to his legitimate and
\npeaceful human rights work.\n<\/p>\n
\nstate departments and institutions and who are members of its professional
\nassociations, are at risk of disciplinary measures that may go as far as
\nbarring them from practising their profession. These are very cruel penalties
\nagainst individuals and their families as they threaten their source of income
\nand so their future,” Mustafa Osso told Amnesty International. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nto discipline any lawyer for exercising their rights to freedom of expression,
\nopinion or assembly. While the Bar Association has a mandate to take
\ndisciplinary proceedings against members whose professional conduct falls below
\nthe appropriate standard, this must not be interpreted in such a way as to
\npenalize lawyers for pursuing the defence of human rights or for legitimately
\nexercising those rights.\n<\/p>\n
\nbe severely restricted in Syria despite the lifting of the 48-year-old state of
\nemergency on 21 April. The Syrian authorities have so far responded in the most
\nbrutal manner to largely peaceful popular protests calling for political reform. <\/span>Amnesty International has obtained the names
\nof more than 2,200 people reported to have died or been killed during or in
\nconnection with the protests since mid-March; many are believed to have been
\nshot by security forces using live ammunition while participating in peaceful
\nprotests or attending funerals of people killed in earlier protests. Thousands
\nof other people have been arrested, with many held incommunicado at unknown
\nlocations at which torture and other ill-treatment are reported to be rife. Syrian
\nhuman rights defenders are finding it increasingly difficult to operate in this
\nclimate of repression. A number of them have been arrested and others have been
\nforced into hiding out of fear for their safety. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\nAssociation to end disciplinary proceedings instigated against Syrian Kurdish
\nhuman rights lawyer Mustafa Kheder Osso as they appear to be aimed at
\npenalizing him for expressing political views in a TV interview and taking part
\nin a protest.<\/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-361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361","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=361"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}