17 August 2012 <\/p>\n
URGENT ACTION <\/p>\n
A 17-year-old boy, Salah al-Shogre (or al-Shogri), brother of a detained activist, was arrested on 28 July in Syria and has been held incommunicado since then. His whereabouts are unknown, and he may be at risk of torture and other ill-treatment.\n<\/p>\n
Salah al-Shogre<\/strong> and his father were stopped at a check point on 28 July, near their home in the coastal city of Banias. According to a relative who lives outside Syria, both Salah al-Shogre and his father were taken to the political security branch in Banias, where Salah al-Shogre was separated from his father for questioning.<\/p>\n Salah al-Shogre’s father asked the security forces where his son had been taken, and was told: "If you want to see your son, go to Tartus." The authorities have given no reasons for his arrest, or revealed where he is, but an unofficial source has told Salah al-Shogre’s family that he is being held at the Military Security branch in the city of Tartus. <\/p>\n Amnesty International is not aware of the reasons for Salah al-Shogre’s arrest. His older brother Anas, who had organized demonstrations in Banias, has been held in incommunicado detention since May 2011. If Salah al-Shogre is held solely in connection with his brother’s activism, he would be a prisoner of conscience and Amnesty International would call for his immediate and unconditional release. <\/p>\n International standards require that detainees’ families are notified promptly after their arrest, and that detainees have access to lawyers of their choice throughout their detention and are allowed to communicate with their families. <\/p>\n Please write immediately in Arabic, English or your own language: <\/strong><\/p>\n Call on the Syrian authorities to release Salah al-Shogre immediately and unconditionally if he is not charged with a recognizably criminal offence. If so charged, he should be tried in accordance with the rules of juvenile justice, which also provide that the detention of children should only be used as a last resort. <\/p>\n Express concern that Salah al-Shogre has been held incommunicado since 28 July 2012 and urge the authorities to provide him immediate access to his family, a lawyer of his choice, and any medical attention he may require; <\/p>\n Call on them to ensure that Salah al-Shogre is protected from torture and other ill-treatment.<\/p>\n PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 28 SEPTEMBER 2012 TO:<\/strong> Minister of Defence Minister of Foreign Affairs Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. Please insert local diplomatic addresses below: <\/strong> URGENT ACTION <\/strong> Thousands of suspected opponents of the government have been arrested since protests broke out in February 2012 and many, if not most, are believed to have been tortured and otherwise ill-treated. Amnesty International has the names of more than 470 people reported to have died in custody during this period and has documented many cases of torture or other ill-treatment. See “I wanted to die”: Syria’s torture survivors speak out<\/em> http:\/\/www.amnesty.org\/en\/library\/info\/MDE24\/016\/2012\/en<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n Although the vast majority of the human rights abuses documented by Amnesty International have been committed by the state’s armed forces and pro-government shabiha<\/em> militias, abuses have also been committed by armed opposition groups, including the torture and killing of captured soldiers and shabiha<\/em> as well as the kidnapping and killing of people known or suspected to support or work with the government and its forces. Amnesty International condemns without reservation such abuses and has called on the leadership of all armed opposition groups in Syria to state publicly that such acts are prohibited and to do all in their power to ensure that opposition forces put an immediate end to them. <\/p>\n
\n President
\n Bashar al-Assad
\n Presidential Palace, al-Rashid Street
\n Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic
\n Fax: +963 11 332 3410 (keep trying)
\n Salutation: Your Excellency <\/strong><\/p>\n
\n His Excellency ‘Imad al-Fraij
\n Ministry of Defence, Omayyad Square
\n Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic
\n Fax: +963 11 223 7842 (keep trying)
\n +963 11 666 2460 (keep trying)
\n Salutation: Your Excellency <\/strong><\/p>\n
\n Walid al-Mu’allim
\n Ministry of Foreign Affairs
\n al-Rashid Street
\n Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic
\n Fax: +963 11 214 6253 (keep trying)
\n Salutation: Your Excellence<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n Name Address 1 Address 2 Address 3 Fax Fax number Email Email address Salutation Salutation
\n Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date. <\/p>\n
\n ACTIVIST’S BROTHER DETAINED, RISKS TORTURE
\n ADditional Information<\/strong>
\n Salah al-Shogre’s brother, Anas al-Shogre has been detained incommunicado since May 2011 at an unknown location. The authorities have not told his family why he has been detained, and it is not known whether he has been charged. According to Syrian human rights activists and a network responsible for planning and organizing protests, the Local Coordination Committees in Syria (LCC), Anas al-Shogre played a major role in organizing protests in his city of Banias and telling the media what was happening on the ground. He is the subject of UA 209\/11, 5 July 2011, MDE 24\/030\/2011, and follow-up – http:\/\/amnesty.org\/en\/library\/info\/MDE24\/030\/2011\/en<\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n