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. Rafeef Mustafa is also Board Chairperson of the Kurdish Human Rights Committee in Syria, while his sons Nuwar and Roudi are members of the same organisation.

On 4 September 2011, Syrian Security Forces carried out a raid on the home of Joan Sulayman Ayu in Ras al Ayn, Hasaka city during which he was arrested, while on 24 August 2011, Ridwan Uthman Sido was arrested by Syrian Security Forces upon returning to Syria from Turkey where he had been visiting family. Joan Sulayman Ayu and Ridwan Uthman Sido have been held in incommunicado detention since their arrests and have not been permitted access to a lawyer or their families. Their current whereabouts are unknown. To date, it is not yet clear whether charges have been brought against them, however it is anticipated that they may be accused of spreading false information, debilitating the moral of the nation and inciting racial and sectarian strife, in line with a pattern which has emerged related to previous arrests of other Kurdish human rights defenders.

On 2 and 3 of September 2011, Syrian Security Forces carried out two raids of the family home of Rafeef Mustafa in Ayn al Arab, reportedly with the intention of arresting Rafeef Mustafa and his sons Nuwar and Roudi. They were not in the house at the time as they have been in hiding for two months and are believed to be wanted by the Syrian Security Forces as a result of their human rights activities. It is reported that Roudi Mustafa suffered head injuries whilst taking part in a recent student demonstration.

Front Line believes that the arrest and detention of Ridwan Uthman Sido and that of Joan Sulayman Ayu, as well as the raid at the Mustafa family home, is directly related to the aforementioned defenders' legitimate human rights work, in particular their involvement in the promotion and protection of human rights of the Kurdish minority in Syria. In this connection, it is further believed that the aforementioned human rights defenders may also have been targeted because of their Kurdish ethnicity.

Front Line is gravely concerned for physical and psychological integrity and security of Ridwan Uthman Sido and Joan Sulayman Ayu particularly considering that, to date, their fate and whereabouts remain unknown, which greatly increases the risk that they may be subjected to torture as well as other forms of ill treatment. Front Line is also concerned for the physical and psychological integrity and security of Rafeef and Nuwar Mustafa considering that they have been in hiding for some months and are wanted by the Syrian Security Forces because of their human rights activities.