All News items from Syria

Front Line welcomes the release of human rights defender Hammam Haddad on the morning of the 10th of September 2008.

Hammam Haddad was arbitrarily detained on 7 September 2008. . He has been active in publicising cases of human rights violations in Syria and has also worked to support victims of human rights violations and their families.

Hammam Haddad was previously arrested on 3 May 2008 by Airforce Intelligence in the Harista district of Damascus and released on 5 May 2008. He was under interrogation from 23 April 2008 until his first arrest.

A Syrian Supreme court sentenced seven human rights defenders to between five and seven years' imprisonment on 17 June 2007 for allegedly taking part in a pro-democracy discussion group and publishing articles on the internet which criticized the lack of democracy and freedom in Syria.  

A Syrian human rights defender and leading member of the Arab Organization for Human Rights in Syria, Nazar Al-Rastanawi was sentenced on 19 of November 2006 to four years in prison. His trial lasted sixteen months during which he was allegedly subjected to torture and ill treatment. The charges against him include ‘publishing false news’. Front Line believes these charges are directly related to his work in promoting and protecting human rights in Syria.

Front Line is delighted to learn that Mr. Aktham Naisse, President of the Committees for the Defence of Democratic Liberties and Human Rights in Syria (CDDLHR), has been awarded the 2005 Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders (MEA) on 13th January. Mr. Aktham Naisse is one of the founding members of the CDDLHR, created in 1989.  

Syrian human rights defender Aktham Naisse has not been seen since he presented himself at the department of military security in the city of Latakia, in the west of Syria, Tuesday the 13th April 2004. Front Line believes Aktham Naisse may have been arrested when he presented himself, as ordered, at the department of military security. According to reports received he has been held incommunicado since then. The Department of Military Security in the city of Latakia has reportedly denied having him in custody. According to our reports he is at risk of torture and suffers from an irregular heartbeat and a kidney complaint, both of which require medication. Front Line fears that Aktham Naisse may have been arrested solely because of his work in defense of human rights. He is the President of the Committees for the Defence of Democratic Liberties and Human Rights (CDDLHR).  

On 8 March 2004, a peaceful sit-in demonstration on behalf of political prisoners and democratic reforms in Syria was reportedly disrupted by the security forces. The demonstration had reportedly been organized by the Committees for the Defence of Democratic Liberties and Human Rights in Syria. The security forces allegedly removed the banners of the demonstration and arrested a number of demonstrators, including Akhtam Naisse, Daniel Sauod and Nada Darwish.Those arrested were released that evening.

At approximately 12.20, around 20 minutes after the demonstration began in front of the national parliament in Damascus, security forces allegedly removed all the banners and arrested a number of demonstrators. Akhtam Naisse, Daniel Sauod and Nadal Darwihs, members of the trustees’ council of the Committees for the Defence of Democratic Liberties and Human Rights in Syria, were taken away in a car. Other demonstrators were reportedly arrested and taken into a bus. All those known to have been arrested were released without charge that evening.