Front Line is concerned following reports that travel bans have been imposed on human rights defenders, Mr Abdul-Raheem Gomaza, Mr Rassem Sulaiman El-Atasi and Mr Zuhair Shams-el-Den Al-Sageer. Abdul-Raheem Gomaza is the former secretary and current chief attorney of the National Organisation for Human Rights. He has published articles on capital punishment in Syria and in November 2007 he monitored a trial in Egypt on behalf of the Arab Commission for Human Rights. Rassem Sulaiman El-Atasi is the director of the Syrian section of the Arab Organisation for Human Rights and Zuhair Shams-el-Den Al-Sageer is a board member of the same organisation. On 5 May 2009, Abdul-Raheem Gomaza was prevented from travelling from Damascus international airport to Kuwait. Airport authorities told him that they had received a security notice concerning him and so could not allow him to travel. On 27 March 2009, Rassem Sulaiman El-Atasi was prevented from travelling to Cairo, where he was to attend a preparatory workshop for the Durban summit in Geneva. On 25 March 2009, Zuhair Shams-el-Den Al-Sageer was also informed of a travel ban having been imposed on him when he was prevented from travelling to Jordan to participate in monitoring the elections there.

Travel bans are a major obstacle to the work of human rights defenders in Syria. Front Line has identified 101 human rights defenders in Syria who are subject to travel bans, 75 of whom are members of 12 different human rights groups, including 20 women.

Front line believes that the travel bans imposed on the abovementioned human rights defenders are a result of their legitimate and peaceful work in defence of human rights.