Tag Archives: Syria

Lawyers Day in Syria: Khalil Ma’touq and Razan Zaitouneh remain missing

Sem categoria 22/04/2022 Leave a comment

22/04/22

Today is Lawyers Day in Syria, a day that is celebrated by lawyers from Syria. On this day, we would like to highlight the cases of disappeared lawyers Khalil Ma’touq and Razan Zaitouneh from Syria.

Khalil Ma’touq

Khalil Ma’touq, director of the Syrian Center for Legal Studies and Research, is a human rights lawyer who has been defending peaceful activists for more than 20 years. He and his colleague and assistant Mohammed Zaza have been missing since October 2, 2012, when they were en route from Ma’touq’s home in Sahanaya, a Damascus suburb, to his office in Damascus. It is believed that they were arrested at a government security checkpoint. The exact reasons for the arrest are unknown, but there is reason to believe their arrest is connected to their legitimate and peaceful work in human rights.

Despite repeated requests by their families and lawyers for information about their fate, their whereabouts are still unknown. The Syrian authorities have denied that they arrested the men. However, individuals released from the government’s custody in 2015 have informed Ma’touq’s family that while in detention they spotted him in various government-operated detention facilities.

Razan Zaitouneh

As a prominent human rights lawyer, activist, and journalist, Razan Zaitouneh has dedicated her life to defending political prisoners, documenting crimes against humanity, and helping others free themselves from oppression. Since the beginning of the crisis in 2011, Razan Zaitouneh has played a key role in efforts to defend human rights for all and protect independent groups and activists in Syria. She is co-founder of the Local Coordination Committees in Syria and the Violations Documentation Center, which documents human rights violations in Syria.

Together with her husband and two colleagues, Razan Zaitouneh disappeared on 9 December 2013 in Douma, after a group of armed men stormed the office of the Violations Documentation Center. Since then, no one has heard from them.

Lawyers Day in Syria: Khalil Ma’touq and Razan Zaitouneh remain missing
Eight years since disappearance Razan Zaitouneh

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/syria-opposition-spokesperson-can-face-war-crimes-french-court-says

https://scm.bz/en/scm-statements/intwomen22

https://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/syria-landmark-ruling-offers-hope-regime-s-victims

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Razan_Zaitouneh

https://information.tv5monde.com/info/syrie-razan-zaitouneh-toujours-disparue-4774 (FRANCAIS)

Syrie : la compétence des juridictions françaises confirmée dans l’affaire Majdi Nema

Syria: Lawyer killed in eastern Raqqa

Sem categoria 24/05/2021 Leave a comment

23/05/21

A lawyer was killed by unknown men in the town of Karamah in eastern rural Raqqa.

Unknown men on a motorbike fired on Khaled al-Mizan after midnight that led immediately to his death.

The murder took place close to the town of Karamah in eastern rural Raqqa.

Investigation were commenced by the Internal Security Police into the murder.

http://www.hawarnews.com/en/haber/lawyer-killed-in-eastern-raqqa-h24802.html

Lawyer killed in eastern Raqqa – ANHA | HAWARNEWS

https://anfenglish.com/rojava-syria/lawyer-killed-in-raqqa-52242

USA/Syria: Dearborn Man Accused Of ISIS Ties Threatened To Kill His Lawyer If Freed On Bond

Sem categoria 09/05/2021 Leave a comment

08/05/21

A legal team is fighting to get bond for a Dearborn man accused of being an ISIS soldier who hates America. However, the man has threatened to kill his lawyer as soon as he’s released, according to a government court filing.

U.S. District Judge David Lawson in Detroit will decide the bond issue Monday for Ibraheem Musaibli, 30, held in the Livingston County Jail on charges linked to the Islamic extremist group. A trial is set for October. 

The story of the bond issue was first reported by Robert Snell of The Detroit News.

Musaibli was arrested on the Syrian battlefield in 2018 and subsequently indicted on allegations of knowingly providing and attempting to provide material support to ISIS. He was detained by Syrian Democratic Forces and was transferred to U.S. custody in July 2018.

He has been in federal custody nearly three years. His attorneys say he’s harassed in jail because he’s Muslim. He’s in isolation. 

[…]

In arguing against bond, the government questioned his ties to the community:

Much of Musaibli’s history is unremarkable: he worked for his parents’ perfume shop after dropping out of high school; he has had three failed marriages; he has rarely seen his four children (including not even having met two of them); and has few financial resources. Musaibli may have some physical and mental health issues, but none that support his release from custody.

Further more, the government wrote:

Musaibli expresses that he wants to be imprisoned in an Arab country rather than “this infidel country.” Finally, over a discovery issue, Musaibli claimed that “as soon as he is out he will kill [his] attorney.

[…]

https://www.deadlinedetroit.com/articles/27960/dearborn_man_accused_of_isis_ties_threatened_to_kill_his_lawyer_if_freed_on_bond

https://eu.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/wayne-county/2021/05/08/alleged-dearborn-islamic-state-soldier-vows-kill-lawyer-prosecutors-say/7348989002/

https://eu.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2021/01/19/islamic-state-soldier-set-help-feds-prosecute-dearborn-man-caught-syria/4125093001/

Razan Zaitouneh — The missing face of Syria’s revolution

Sem categoria 15/03/2021 Leave a comment

15/03/21

Razan Zaitouneh rests her head on her arm

Her fight against injustice made her enemies on all sides of the war. Ten years after Syria’s revolution, DW looks back on her life — and the dark fate that awaited Razan Zaitouneh in rebel-held territory.

Razan Zaitouneh was beaming as she swayed among the protesters. She was caught up in defiant revelry as she joined the crowds in chanting against the Syrian regime.

When the revolution kicked off, it was as if Zaitouneh had waited her entire life for it. She was among the first activists to call on the Syrian government to release political prisoners in an open letter published a day after the first major protests on March 15, 2011.

“We are facing one of the most brutal regimes in the region and the world with peaceful protests, songs of freedom — chanting for a new Syria,” she said in a 2011 video statement. “I’m very proud to be Syrian, and to be part of these historical days, and to feel that greatness inside my people.”

But that wasn’t enough.

Back then, 33-year-old Zaitouneh became directly involved in organizing protests in Damascus and other cities across the country. Her efforts would contribute to the formation of the Local Coordination Committees, which were instrumental to early democratic efforts in Syria.

Her opposition to armed resistance set her apart from many of her contemporaries — some of whom would go on to support organized violence against the regime. 

“The most important part of her personality is her rejection of injustice and her willingness to do anything to fight injustice,” says Mazen Darwish, a longtime friend of Zaitouneh who leads the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression.

“Razan had no ambition for power,” adds Darwish, his eyes bright from remembering her.

Seeds of revolution

Even before she would spearhead revolutionary action in Syria, Zaitouneh championed the rights of the underserved, the marginal and those most at risk of the Assad regime’s brutal security apparatus as a human rights lawyer.

“People’s rights and treating them with justice is not something open to interpretation nor is it a point of view,” Zaitouneh said in the last article she wrote before her disappearance.

[…]

https://www.dw.com/en/razan-zaitouneh-the-missing-face-of-syrias-revolution/a-56846873

Razan Zaitouneh — The lacking face of Syria′s revolution | In Depth | DW
Keeping hope, but still waiting: Syrian feminism and a decade of revolution

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Razan_Zaitouneh

https://www.lavoixdunord.fr/949825/article/2021-03-02/la-justice-francaise-saisie-des-attaques-chimiques-en-syrie (FRANCAIS)

https://fr.timesofisrael.com/plainte-visant-les-attaques-chimiques-en-syrie-un-pas-de-plus-contre-limpunite/

https://lesjours.fr/obsessions/la-traque-anwar-raslan/ep16-ghouta/

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Razan_Zaitouneh

https://www.dw.com/de/razan-zaitouneh-syriens-verstummte-stimme-der-revolution/a-56868567 (DEUTSCH)

https://www.avvenire.it/mondo/pagine/quattro-donne-di-siria (ITALIANO)

Syria: Seven Years Since the Disappearance of the Four Activists

Sem categoria 10/12/2020 Leave a comment

09/12/20

SNHR

Civil Society Organizations Demand the Immediate Disclosure of the Fate of Human Rights Activist Razan Zaitouneh and Her Colleagues and Accountability for the Kidnappers

Today completes seven years since the disappearance of the four activists. On December 9, 2013, the joint office of the Violations Documentation Center (VDC) in Syria, the office of the Local Development and Small-Projects Support (LDSPS), and that of the Rising for Freedom magazine in the city of Douma in the countryside of Damascus were attacked by an armed group that kidnapped activists Razan ZAITOUNEH, Wael HAMADA, Samira ALKHALIL, and Nazim HAMMADI. Despite the fact that all the military factions left the area after the forces of the Syrian regime took control of it, the fate of our colleagues remains unknown to this day.
 
At a time when the fruits of their labor are being revealed through the documentation of violations and crimes committed, the collection of testimonies, pictures, and data about the chemical attack in Eastern Ghouta in 2013, and the filing of judicial complaints against the perpetrators of these crimes, in addition to the ongoing work in supporting local communities and free civil work in areas outside the control of the Syrian regime, the fate of these activists remains unknown. This is true despite all efforts made by families and friends of the kidnapped to reveal their fate, including communication with many parties and a legal complaint against ‘Jaysh al-Islam’, the main suspect in the kidnapping incident.
 
Over the past seven years, no real efforts have been made by the countries concerned in the Syrian issue to reveal their fate. Some of them have a kind of guardianship over the military factions and in turn have the ability to put great pressure on them. However, the efforts of politicians, diplomats and representatives of these countries were limited to statements and condemnations that did not help in revealing the fate of the kidnapped.
 

[…]

Seven Years Since the Disappearance of the Four Activists
Seven Years Since Their Disappearance
In the Middle East, words escape prison walls to inspire freedom and hope
Seven years since disappearance Razan Zaitouneh

https://www.dw.com/en/how-germany-could-indict-syrias-assad-for-war-crimes/a-55736276

https://syriadirect.org/news/%e2%80%98a-person-who-believed%e2%80%99-remembering-razan-zaitouneh-on-her-41st-birthday/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Razan_Zaitouneh

Moyen-Orient : les mots par-delà les murs des prisons
(FRANCAIS)

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Razan_Zaitouneh

En Medio Oriente, las palabras escapan de los muros de la prisión para inspirar libertad y esperanza
(ESPANOL)

Iran/Turkey/Syria: Nine protesters detained outside Turkish embassy in Tehran

Sem categoria 14/10/2019 Leave a comment

October 13, 2019

Nine people were detained by Iranian security forces outside the Turkish embassy in Tehran on Saturday while protesting against Turkey’s ongoing military offensive in northeast Syria.

Since Operation Peace Spring began on Wednesday evening, protests have sprung up across Iranian Kurdistan, also known as Rojhelat, concentrated on the major Kurdish cities of Sanandaj, Baneh, Piranshar, and Marivan, amid a heavy security presence.

Hundreds of protesters also gathered outside the Turkish embassy in the Iranian capital Tehran on Saturday to protest Ankara’s Syria offensive. The protesters chanted “death to Turkey and Erdogan” and “Rojava is not alone”.

One protester, who wished to remain anonymous, told Rudaw at least nine people were detained by security forces.

“Minutes after the protests started, security forces forced the protesters to leave the area with force,” the protester said. “The security forces detained nine protesters.”

Abdullah Jahanbyn, head of a Kurdish lawyers group, and Ismail Salary, a Kurdish human rights lawyer, are among those detained, he added.

…

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iran/131020191

https://en.radiofarda.com/a/protest-at-turkish-embassy-in-tehran-iran-in-protest-to-syria-invasion/30213462.html

Turkey: Report: There still 143 lawyers in Turkish prisons

Sem categoria 18/09/2019 Leave a comment

September 17, 2019

In response to a parliamentary question of Mr Sezgin Tanrikulu, the Turkish Ministry of Justice announced the number of lawyers held in prison by years. According to the Ministry of Justice the number of lawyers remanded in pretrial detention by years as following: 354, 487, 169 and 143, respectively in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

1

Since 2016’s coup attempt, there has been a relentless campaign of arrests which has targeted lawyers across Turkey. In 77 of Turkey’s 81 provinces, lawyers have beendetained, prosecuted and convicted due to alleged terror-linked offenses. As of today, more than 1500 lawyers have been prosecuted and 599 lawyers arrested. So far, 321 lawyers have been sentenced to 2022 years in prison on the grounds of membership of an armed terrorism organization or of spreading terrorist propaganda.

Lawyers who were released after a certain time of pretrial detention will return to prison if their pending appeals dismissed.

Report: There still 143 lawyers in Turkish prisons

Abuse of the Anti-Terrorism Provision by Turkey is steadily increasing

https://ahvalnews.com/arrested-lawyers/turkey-has-sentenced-321-lawyers-2000-years-jail-2016-report

https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/04/10/turkey-mass-prosecution-lawyers

18 Lawyers sentenced to long prison terms

https://ahvalnews.com/selahattin-demirtas/selahattin-demirtas-release-order-upon-release-order-still-jail

https://www.euronews.com/2019/09/11/lawyers-seek-kurdish-politician-demirtas-release-from-turkish-prison-source

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/turkeyex-top-judiciary-official-gets-15-year-jail-term/1586483

Arbitrary Detention of Lawyers and Defenders in China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Cameroon | Oral Statement to the 42nd Session of the UN Human Rights Council

http://www.milliyet.com.tr/gundem/bylock-kullanan-avukata-hapis-6041404 (TURKCE)

LATEST REPORT | MASS PROSECUTION OF LAWYERS IN TURKEY

Thailand: Ensure truth, justice, and reparations for victims of enforced disappearance | Written Statement to the UN Human Rights Council

Sem categoria 30/08/2019 Leave a comment

August 29, 2019

Image result for lawyers rights watch canada

Joint written statement* submitted by Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada, non-governmental organization in special consultative status, and Asian Legal Resource Centre, non-government organization in general consultative status

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR), NGO without consultative status, also shares the views expressed in this statement.

Unforgotten in Thailand: Ensure truth, justice, and reparations for victims of enforced disappearance

  1. Introduction: Persistent impunity for enforced disappearances

 A pattern of impunity for enforced disappearances[1] persists in Thailand despite years of promises to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (UNCED)[2] and to pass legislation making enforced disappearance a crime.[3] The United Nations (UN) Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) reports 82 unresolved cases of enforced disappearances since 1980.[4] This number represents a fraction of Thailand’s enforced disappearances since the 1950s,[5] as families and witnesses remain silent for fear of reprisals.[6] Those most vulnerable to enforced disappearances belong to minorities or indigenous peoples. Also at risk are human rights defenders (defenders) or peaceful government critics.[7]Thailand’s current laws foster impunity for enforced disappearance; when a body is not found, murder charges are not laid.[8] No public officials have ever been held accountable for suspected involvement in enforced disappearances. The persistent pattern of impunity for enforced disappearances constitutes a grave violation of Thailand’s obligations under customary international law and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Thailand acceded in 1996.[9]

The risk of enforced disappearances is heightened by the practice of incommunicado detention of political opponents, suspects in national security cases, and suspected insurgents in southern provinces.[10]

…

Thailand: Ensure truth, justice, and reparations for victims of enforced disappearance | Written Statement to the UN Human Rights Council

https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/03/11/thai-lawyers-disappearance-unsolved-15-years

15 years since disappearance Somchai Neelapaijit

Thailand: at event marking 15th anniversary of the enforced disappearance of Somchai Neelapaijit, ICJ calls for effective measures to tackle the crime

https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/03/11/14-years-disappearance-thai-rights-lawyer

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somchai_Neelapaijit

https://www.un.org/press/en/2019/sgsm19716.doc.htm

https://www.un.org/en/events/disappearancesday/

https://international.thenewslens.com/article/124112

https://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/enforced-disappearance-in-bangladesh-thousand-days-wait-1792822

https://www.amnesty.org.uk/press-releases/syria-new-testimonies-families-disappeared-mark-day-disappeared

https://iran-hrm.com/index.php/2019/08/29/enforced-disappearances-in-iran-and-the-1988-massacre/

https://www.un.org/fr/events/disappearancesday/ (FRANCAIS)

enforced disappearances

Image result for international day of forced disappearances

Syria: The corpse of a lawyer was found in Qubbat al Sheikh village in Aleppo, on Aug 9

Sem categoria 11/08/2019 Leave a comment

August 10, 2019

The lawyer Ahmad al Ahmad, attorney general at the court of Bza’a city in the eastern suburbs of Aleppo governorate, his corpse was found decomposed in a well in Qubbat al Sheikh village in the eastern suburbs of Aleppo governorate, on August 9, 2019. His family confirmed that they recognized him by his clothes and belongings. We note that gunmen kidnapped the lawyer on May 19, 2019, while he was passing the road linking al Bab city and al Ziadiya village in the eastern suburbs of Aleppo governorate and forcibly disappeared him. We are unable to identify the date and the cause of his death and the party responsible for his kidnap as of this writing.

The corpse of a lawyer was found in Qubbat al Sheikh village in Aleppo, on Aug 9

Syria: Factions from armed opposition arrested a lawyer in Izaz city in Aleppo, on July 20

Sem categoria 23/07/2019 Leave a comment

July 22, 2019

Story image for Ahmad al Mohammad from Syrian Network For Human Rights (press release) (blog)

Ahmad al Mohammad, a lawyer from Jarablos city in Aleppo governorate eastern suburbs, was arrested by members of Military Police affiliated with factions from armed opposition on July 20, 2019, from his place in Izaz city in Aleppo governorate northern suburbs and taken to a detention center in the city.

Factions from armed opposition arrested a lawyer in Izaz city in Aleppo, on July 20