SYRIA
SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC
Head of state: Bashar al-Assad
Head of government: Muhammad Naji al-’Otri
Death penalty: retentionist
Population: 20.4 million
Life expectancy: 73.6 years
Under-5 mortality (m/f): 20/15 per 1,000
Adult literacy: 80.8 per cent
The state of emergency, in force since 1963,
continued to give security forces sweeping powers
of arrest and detention. Freedom of expression and
association remained strictly controlled. Hundreds
of people were arrested and hundreds of others
remained imprisoned for political reasons,
including prisoners of conscience and others
sentenced after unfair trials. Torture and other illtreatment
were committed with impunity; seven
deaths as a result were reported. Military Police
were reported to have killed at least 17 detainees.
Human rights defenders were harassed and
persecuted. Members of the Kurdish minority faced
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discrimination; many were effectively stateless and
denied equal access to social and economic rights.
Women were subject to discrimination and genderbased
violence. Sixteen civilians were killed in a
bomb explosion which state media attributed to an
armed group.
Background
Diplomatic relations with France and the EU
improved, and Syria and Lebanon agreed to reestablish
diplomatic relations. The government
engaged in new indirect talks with Israel.
On 26 October, US forces attacked a building in
al-Sukkariyah near Syria’s border with Iraq. The
Syrian authorities said eight civilians were killed.
A US military spokesman said an investigation was
being carried out but its findings were not made
public.
A report issued on 19 November by the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it
had not been able to establish the nature of a site in
Syria destroyed by an Israeli attack in September
2007.
Political prisoners and prisoners of
conscience
Hundreds of people were arrested for political
reasons, including scores of prisoners of conscience.
Hundreds of other political prisoners, including
prisoners of conscience, remained imprisoned,
including at least two detainees, Ziad Ramadan and
Bahaa’ Mustafa Joughel, held without trial since
2005. Scores faced trial before the Supreme State
Security Court (SSSC), Criminal Court or Military
Court, all of which failed to respect international
standards for fair trials.
_ Kamal al-Labwani, a prisoner of conscience already
serving a 12-year prison term, was sentenced to an
additional three years by Damascus Military Court on
23 April, on charges of “broadcasting false or
exaggerated news which could affect the morale of the
country”, on account of remarks he was alleged to have
made in his prison cell.
_ In August, Nabil Khlioui and at least 12 other alleged
Islamists, mostly from Deir al-Zour, were arrested. At
least 10 of them remained in incommunicado
detention without charge or trial at the end of the year.
_ On 15 August, Mesh’al al-Tammo was arrested
because of his activities as spokesperson for the
unauthorized Kurdish Future Current group. He was
held incommunicado for 12 days and charged with
“aiming to provoke civil war or sectarian fighting”,
“conspiracy” and three other charges commonly
brought against Kurdish activists. If convicted, he
could face the death penalty.
_ On 29 October, the Damascus Criminal Court
convicted 12 pro-democracy activists of “weakening
national sentiment” and “broadcasting false or
exaggerated news which could affect the morale of
the country”. They each received 30-month prison
sentences for their involvement in the Damascus
Declaration for Democratic National Change, a coalition
of unauthorized political parties, human rights
organizations and pro-democracy activists from across
the political spectrum. Dr Feda’a al-Horani, former
prisoners of conscience Akram al-Bunni and Riad Seif,
and nine others were arrested between 9 December
2007 and 30 January and were initially held
incommunicado, during which at least eight of them
were punched in the face, kicked and slapped, and
forced to sign false confessions.
_ On 7 August, ‘Aref Dalilah, a former university
economist, was unexpectedly released under a
presidential amnesty. He had served seven years of a
10-year prison term, much of it in solitary confinement,
for his involvement in the so-called “Damascus
Spring”, a peaceful pro-democracy movement. He had
been in increasingly poor health.
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
announced in May that the detention of Mus’ab al-
Hariri was arbitrary because his trial had failed
substantially to meet international fair trial standards.
He had been arrested when aged 15, held
incommunicado for more than two years and
reportedly tortured. He was then sentenced by
the SSSC in June 2005 to six years in prison for
belonging, despite no substantiating evidence, to
the banned Muslim Brotherhood. Despite the Working
Group’s finding, the authorities took no steps to
remedy the situation of Mus’ab al-Hariri.
Also in May the Working Group announced that it
had found the imprisonment of Anwar al-Bunni,
Michel Kilo and Mahmoud ‘Issa to be arbitrary
because they were convicted for legitimately
exercising their right to freedom of expression and
because their trials had substantially failed to meet
international fair trial standards. Lawyer Anwar al-
Bunni had been sentenced to a five-year prison term
Amnesty International Report 2009 315
in April 2007 for his legitimate work in defending
human rights, while Michel Kilo and Mahmoud ‘Issa
had been sentenced to three years’ imprisonment in
May 2007 for their involvement in the Beirut-
Damascus Declaration, a petition signed by some 300
Syrian and Lebanese nationals calling for the
normalization of relations between their two countries.
On 15 December, the Court of Appeal overturned its
earlier decision in November to release Michel Kilo
and Mahmoud ‘Issa.
Also in May the Working Group declared that it had
found the imprisonment of seven men to be arbitrary
because they were convicted in a grossly unfair trial
for legitimately exercising their right to freedom of
expression. Maher Isber Ibrahim and Tareq al-
Ghorani were sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment
and the five others to five-year prison terms in June
2007 for involvement in a youth discussion group and
publishing pro-democracy articles on the internet.
Counter-terror and security
Individuals cleared of involvement in terrorist acts or
who are related to individuals suspected of
involvement in such acts were subjected to arbitrary
and incommunicado detention.
_ Basel Ghalyoun, who was forcibly returned to Syria
by the Spanish authorities after the Spanish Supreme
Court acquitted him of involvement in the 2004 bomb
attacks on trains in Madrid, was detained on arrival on
22 July. He remained held incommunicado at the end
of the year.
_ Muhammad Zammar, a victim of suspected unlawful
rendition to Syria by the US authorities, remained in
prison serving a 12-year sentence imposed by the
SSSC despite the UNWorking Group’s announcement
in June 2007 that his detention was arbitrary.
_ Two women, Usra al-Hussein and Bayan Saleh ‘Ali,
were arrested on 31 July and 4 August respectively in
al-‘Otayba, east of Damascus, and were still held at the
end of 2008. The authorities gave no reason for their
arrest but some sources suggested that it was related to
their efforts to communicate with an international
organization regarding the detention conditions of Usra
al-Hussein’s husband, Jihad Diab, in the US military
base at Guantanamo Bay.
Enforced disappearances and impunity
The fate of some 17,000 people, mostly Islamists who
were victims of enforced disappearance in the late
1970s and early 1980s, and hundreds of Lebanese
and Palestinians who were detained in Syria or
abducted from Lebanon by Syrian forces or Lebanese
and Palestinian militias, remained unknown. In
August, the Lebanese and Syrian Presidents issued a
joint statement pledging to examine the fate of people
who disappeared in Syria and Lebanon.
_ In March, Milad Barakat, a Lebanese man
imprisoned in Syria for 16 years, was returned to
Lebanon, apparently in a traumatized state. Lebanese
security officials had detained him in 1992 and handed
him over to the Syrian authorities, who sentenced him
to 15 years’ imprisonment for fighting against the
Syrian army.
On 30 September, the government issued
Legislative Decree No. 69. This conferred immunity
against prosecution to political security, police and
customs officials for crimes committed on duty except
in cases where a warrant was issued by the general
leadership of the army and military forces.
Unlawful killings
Attacks were carried out by unidentified people. On
12 February, ‘Imad Mughniyah, a suspected senior
Lebanese Hizbullah commander, was killed by a car
bomb in Damascus. On 2 August, Brigadier General
Mohammad Suleiman, a senior security officer
reported to be the IAEA’s main Syrian interlocutor,
was shot dead in Tartous.
A car bomb detonated on 27 September near a
security forces’ building in Damascus killed 17
people, including 16 civilians. State television
broadcasted “confessions” of the alleged perpetrators
on 6 November. They had not been brought to trial by
the end of 2008.
Amid disturbances in Sednaya Military Prison
near Damascus that started on 5 July, Military Police
were reported to have killed at least 17 detainees and
five other people. The circumstances of the violence
and the fate of all prisoners there remained unclear,
as the authorities did not announce whether they had
investigated the killings, gave no details of the people
killed or injured, and did not permit any visits to the
prison or prisoners afterwards.
On 14 October, security officials opened fire on
unarmed people in al-Mishrefeh, near Homs, killing
Sami Ma’touq and Joni Suleiman. The Military
Prosecutor announced an investigation but its
outcome had not been made public by the end of the
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year. Unidentified individuals were reported to have
tampered with evidence at the scene of the killings on
20 October, increasing concern that any investigation
would be flawed.
Freedom of expression
Freedom of expression and all forms of media
remained strictly controlled by the state. Punitive laws
were used against those who expressed dissent.
_ Tariq Biasi, a blogger, was sentenced to three years’
imprisonment by the SSSC on 11 May on charges of
“weakening national sentiment” and “spreading false
news”. He had posted critical comments about the
security services on a website. Arrested in July 2007,
he was held in pre-trial detention for 10 months.
_ Habib Saleh, a pro-reform activist and former
prisoner of conscience, was arrested in May and held
incommunicado for three months, then brought to trial
before the Damascus Criminal Court on charges
including “weakening national sentiment” and “aiming
to provoke civil war or sectarian fighting”. The charges
arose from articles on the internet calling for
governmental reform and democracy. If convicted, he
could face the death penalty.
_ Karim ‘Arabji, a blogger, was being tried before the
SSSC on the charge of “spreading false news”. He was
alleged to have moderated the internet youth forum
www.akhawia.net. Following his arrest in June 2007,
Karim ‘Arabji was reported to have been held in
prolonged incommunicado detention during which he
was tortured and otherwise ill-treated.
_ It was reported on 8 December that Fu’ad Shurbaji,
chief editor of a small private TV station, had been
convicted of “slander” and “defamation” of a state
media official and sentenced to three days’
imprisonment.
Torture and other ill-treatment
Detainees continued to be tortured and otherwise illtreated.
Confessions extracted under duress were
used as evidence in court. Seven deaths were
reported to have occurred as a possible result of
abuses in custody. The authorities took no action to
investigate torture allegations.
Violence and discrimination against
women
At least 29 women were reportedly killed in the name
of “honour” and the perpetrators of such killings,
when prosecuted, continued to receive lenient
sentences under the Penal Code. Women’s rights
defenders campaigned for better protection from
gender-based violence and for an end to legal
discrimination against women. In July, the authorities
said that a committee was being formed to draft an
anti-trafficking law.
Discrimination – Kurds
Members of the Kurdish minority, who comprise up
to 10 per cent of the population, continued to suffer
from identity-based discrimination, including
restrictions on the use of the Kurdish language and
culture. Tens of thousands of Syrian Kurds remained
effectively stateless and so were denied equal access
to social and economic rights.
On 10 September, the authorities issued Legislative
Decree No. 49. This further restricted housing and
property rights in border areas, including the predominantly
Kurdish-populated north-east border areas.
Human rights defenders
Human rights NGOs remained active although they
were not officially authorized. Human rights defenders
continued to face harassment. Lawyers Muhannad al-
Hassani and Razan Zeitouneh were among at least 20
human rights defenders prevented from travelling
abroad.
Death penalty
The death penalty remained in force for a wide range
of offences. At least one person convicted of murder
was executed and on 1 April seven others were
sentenced to death for drug trafficking.
In December, Syria voted against a UN General
Assembly resolution calling for a worldwide
moratorium on executions.
Refugees and asylum-seekers
Syria continued to host around 1 million Iraqi
refugees. Some Iraqi refugees were arrested and
forcibly returned to Iraq for having incorrect
residency or work permits or for being suspected of
working with international organizations. Syria also
hosted around 500,000 Palestinian refugees who
are long-term residents. Tens of thousands of
Syrians remained internally displaced due to Israel’s
continuing occupation of the Golan.
Ahwazi (Iranian Arab) asylum-seekers continued to
Amnesty International Report 2009 317
be at risk of forcible return to Iran.
_ On 27 September, Ma’soumeh Ka’bi and her five
children aged between four and 14 were forcibly
returned to Iran, where they were immediately
detained.
Amnesty International visit/reports
_An Amnesty International delegation visited Syria in February/March to
look into the situation of Iraqi refugees and to gather information about
human rights abuses in Iraq.
_ Iraq: Rhetoric and reality – the Iraqi refugee crisis (MDE 14/011/2008)
_ Syria: Repressing dissent – pro-democracy activists on trial in Syria
(MDE 24/024/2008)
