Human rights defender Mr Radef Moustafa was prevented from travelling to Cairo to attend a Front Line regional workshop on the implementation of the EU guidelines on human rights defenders, which took place on 2-3 December 2009. The Security intelligence and the State intelligence offices in Aleppo refused to grant Radef Moustafa the permission to travel.

Further Information

Radef Moustafa, a human rights lawyer, is the director of the Kurdish Committee for Human Rights (kurdchr). He has been voluntarily taking on the cases of many human rights defenders before the courts in Syria including the case of Mr Muhanad Alhasani, a human rights lawyer and the president of the Syrian Human Rights Organisation (SHRO), about whom Front Line reported on 31 July 2009: see Original Front Line Appeal

The authorities did not give any reason for preventing Radef Moustafa from travelling outside Syria on 1 December 2009, although the travel ban against him has been in force for two years. He was previously prevented from travelling to Paris in May 2008 to participate in a workshop. Travel bans have routinely been used by the authorities in Syria as a means of exerting pressure upon human rights defenders and to prevent them from attending regional and international human rights activities and meetings. Front Line has previously reported on the issue of “travel bans in Syria”: see Original Front Line Report

Front Line believes that the travel ban imposed upon Radef Moustafa is directly related to his work in defence of human rights, particularly in pursuing justice for victims of violations of human rights by the Syrian authorities. Front Line sees this as part of an ongoing pattern of harassment of human rights defenders in Syria. Front Line fears for the physical and psychological integrity of Radef Moustafa.

Front Line urges the Syrian authorities to:

1. Immediately life the travel ban imposed on Radef Moustafa as it is believed that this measure has been taken against him solely on account of his legitimate and peaceful work in defence of human rights;

2. Guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Radef Moustafa;

3. Ensure that all human rights defenders in Syria are free to carry out their legitimate human rights work without fear of reprisals, and free of all restrictions including judicial harassment.