Death threats against Mr. Abdulkarim Rihawi, President of the Syrian Human Rights League

SYRIA/EGYPT: Concernsover threats against Mr. AbdulkarimRihawi, President of the Syrian Human Rights League

Paris-Geneva,June 13, 2012. TheObservatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of theInternational Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World OrganisationAgainst Torture (OMCT), is deeply concerned about the series of anonymous deaththreats received by Mr. Abdulkarim Rihawi in relationto his human rights activities.

From June 11, 2012 in the evening toJune 12 in the afternoon, Mr. Rihawi received 5-6threatening phone calls from unidentified individuals who accused him of beingan agent, a spy for the West and a traitor of the nation. The callers told him:“howdare you accuse Bashar of being a criminal? You are the criminal”. The caller alsoused another Syrian expression which means that he “won't live more than"them"” (“them” referring to the supporters of Syrian President Bashar El-Assad).It has not yet been possible to identify the origin of the calls.

These threats occurred after Mr. Rihawi,who is currently in exile in Cairo, Egypt, appeared on Al Jazeera Arabic on June 11, to speakabout a communication that was sent to the International Criminal Court (ICC)by his own organisation as well as by another Syrian organisation, The HagueCenter for the Persecution of Criminals against Humanity in Syria, on the continuedwidespread and systematic humanrights violations that have taken place in Syria.

The Observatory expresses its deepest concerns about thedeath threats received by Mr. Rihawi, which are directly related to his humanrights activities. It calls on both the Syrian andEgyptian authorities to comply with Article 1 of the 1998United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, which states that“everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to (…)strive for the protection and realisation of human rights (...) at the nationaland international levels”, as well as Article 12.2 of the same Declaration,which provides that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure theprotection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and inassociation with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de factoor de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action (...)”.

The Observatory further calls on the Egyptianauthorities to carry out an immediate, thorough, effective and impartialinvestigation into the above mentioned acts, the result of which must be madepublic, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them before a civilcompetent and impartial tribunal and apply to them the penal sanctions providedby the law.

Forfurther information, please contact:

· FIDH: Arthur Manet : +33 1 43 55 25 18