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Syria: Arrest and incommunicado detention of human rights defender and lawyer Mr Abdulla Al Khalilposted on: 2012/02/08

On 3 February 2012 human rights defender and lawyer Mr Abdulla Al Khalil was arrested in Al Riqqa and is currently being held in incommunicado detention.

Syria: Human rights defender Mr Abdulla Al Khalil summoned to court on criminal charges as part of an ongoing campaign of harassment and intimidation against himposted on: 2012/02/01

Human rights defender and lawyer Abdulla Al Khalil has been summoned to appear before the criminal court in Al Riqqa on 6 February 2012 to face criminal charges.

UK:Syrian human rights defender Razan Zeitouneh Honoured in Anna Politkovskaya's Name on Eve of Murder Anniversaryposted on: 2011/10/10

A Syrian human rights activist who has risked her life to report to the outside world on atrocities committed under the Syrian government's continuing crackdown on protesters has been honored in the name of slain Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

Syria: Arrest and incommunicado detention of human rights defenders Joan Sulayman Ayu and Ridwan Uthman Sido, raid at the home of human rights defender Rafeef Mustafaposted on: 2011/09/08

Two prominent Kurdish human rights defenders, Messrs Joan Sulayman Ayu and Ridwan Uthman Sido, have been arrested and are currently being held incommunicado by the Syrian Security Forces, and the family home of human rights defenders, Mr Rafeef Mustafa and his sons Nuwar and Roudi Mustafa has been raided.

Further Information

Ridwan Uthman Sido is a human rights lawyer and member of the board of trustees of the Kurdish Human Rights Committee in Syria, as well as a member of the Hasaka branch of the Syrian Bar Association. Joan Sulayman Ayu is a member of the Committee for the Defence of Democratic Freedoms and Human Rights in Syria. Rafeef Mustafa is a human rights lawyer and member of the Aleppo branch of the Syrian Bar Association, he is also coordinator of the Syrian anti-death penalty campaign.

Syria: Update - Human rights defender Mr Abd al Karim Al Rihawi releasedposted on: 2011/08/25

On 22 August 2011, human rights defender Mr Abd al Karim Al Rihawi was released from incommunicado detention. It is believed that while in detention he was subjected to torture and ill-treatment, which included being suspended for up to four hours by his hands, and being punched and kicked, and beaten with electric batons. He was also subjected to verbal abuse by members of the Syrian Air Force Intelligence Service, the body believed to be responsible for his detention. He was released without charge.

Further Information

Abd al Karim Al Rihawi, is the Director of the Syrian Human Rights Association since 2004, and has been actively involved in the promotion of human rights in Syria. He was arrested on 11 August 2011, at the Havana Cafe in Damascus.

Further information is available on this case

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Syria: Persecution of human rights defenders by the Syrian Government, including Messrs Mustafa Osso and Wa il Al-Hamadaposted on: 2011/08/03

Since the uprisings began in Syria in early 2011, the Syrian Government has been involved in a campaign of intimidation and harassment of human rights defenders with the objective of impeding their legitimate work in the defence of human rights. Front Line has documented numerous cases of human rights defenders who have been intimidated, harassed, persecuted, disappeared or forced into hiding as a result of their work.

Most recently, Front Line has been informed of the situation of human rights defenders Messrs Mustafa Osso and Wa' il Al-Hamada.

On 1 August 2011 human rights lawyer Mustafa Osso was interrogated by the Al Hasakah branch of the Syrian Bar Association, of which he is a member, following a statement he made to Syrian media in which he allegedly undermined the legitimacy of the Syrian State.

Syria: UPDATE - Human rights defender Mr Muhannad Al-Hassani releasedposted on: 2011/06/09

Front Line welcomes the release on 2 June 2011 of human rights defender Mr Muhannad Al-Hassani after almost two years in prison. Muhannad Al-Hassani is a lawyer and the president of the Organisation for Human Rights “Sawasiya”. He was originally arrested on 28 July 2009 for his role as a human rights observer attending trials and reporting on cases brought before the State Security Court (SCC). He was sentenced to three years imprisonment by the Second Damascus Court on 23 June 2010. His release was granted as part of the general amnesty issued by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad following months of anti-government protests.

Further Information

Muhannad Al-Hassani was the subject of a previous Front Line appeal dated 30 July 2009 following his arrest.

Syria: UPDATE - Human Rights defender and winner of the 2008 Front Line Award Anwar Al - Bunni released from prison, today (Monday 23 May)posted on: 2011/05/23

Anwar Al-Bunni winner of the 2008 Front Line Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk has been released today. He finished serving his sentences on the 17th of May 2011 but was taken initially to a branch of the security apparatus before being finally released today released today.

Syria: UPDATE - Human Rights defender and winner of the 2008 Front Line Award Anwar Al - Bunni released from prison, Sunday 22 May)posted on: 2011/05/23

Anwar Al-Bunni winner of the 2008 Front Line Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk has been released on Sunday May 22, 2011. He finished serving his sentence on the 17th of May 2011 but was taken initially to a branch of the security apparatus before being finally released today.

Further Information

Anwar Al-Bunni was originally sentenced to a five year prison sentence because of his courageous work defending human rights defenders and opposition activists facing charges before the State Security Court. He had also set up a human rights centre in Damascus to support the work of human rights defenders and publicly denounced the use of torture in Syrian prisons.

During the 2008 Front line Award ceremony President McAleese of Ireland spoke of the importance of the work being done by human rights defenders: "Among them are the heroic and the self-sacrificing few who refuse to accept the strangulation of freedom, the silencing of voices raised in protest against abuse and in defence of human rights. Such individuals have an extraordinary moral power, a power that is precisely what places them in danger.

Syria: Search at the home of human rights lawyer Mrs Razan Zeitouneh and arrest of her husbandposted on: 2011/05/16

On 12 May the home of human rights lawyer Mrs Razan Zeitouneh in Damascus was searched by Syrian authorities and her husband Mr Wa'il Al-Hamada was arrested. The Syrian authorities are allegedly stepping up their threat and harassment of the prominent Syrian human rights defender and lawyer to force her to stop her human rights activism.