Incommunicado detention and subsequent release of Mr. Rami Mohamed Dalati
URGENT APPEAL - THE OBSERVATORY
SYR 011 / 0711 / OBS 103
Incommunicado detention / Release
Syria
July 26, 2011
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Syria.
Description of the situation:
The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the arbitrary arrest, the 12-day incommunicado detention and the subsequent release of Mr. Rami Mohamed Dalati, a social activist who monitored and documented recent human rights violations in Syria, such as arbitrary detentions and acts of torture.
According to the information received, on July 7, 2011, Mr. Dalati was arbitrarily arrested by members of the Security Forces in Homs, at a security checkpoint. Mr. Dalati was then detained in an unknown location and deprived of contact with his family and lawyer until his release on July 19, 2011. During his detention, no information was given by the authorities neither about his whereabouts nor about the existence of possible charges against him.
The Observatory was subsequently informed that Mr. Dalati had been detained at the Central Prison of Homs. No charges were held against him and the latter was never brought before courts.
The Observatory points out that at the end of May 2011, members of the Security Forces had searched Mr. Dalati's house as well as his offices and had confiscated both his personal and professional computer, along with personal documents.
The Observatory strongly condemns the arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention of Mr. Dalati, and condemns the search of his home and offices, as these measures seem to merely aim at preventing him from reporting on human rights violations committed in Syria in the context of the current crackdown on the protest movement.
Actions requested:
Please write to the Syrian authorities, urging them to:
i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Rami Mohamed Dalati;
ii. Put an end to any kind of harassment against Mr. Rami Mohamed Dalati as well as against all human rights defenders, including individuals monitoring and reporting on human rights violations in the context of the current crackdown on the protest movement;
iii. Conform with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, especially:
- its Article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”,
- its Article 6 (b) and (c), which states that “Everyone has the right, individually and in association with others […] as provided for in human rights and other applicable international instruments, freely to publish, impart or disseminate to others views, information and knowledge on all human rights and fundamental freedoms and [...] to study, discuss, form and hold opinions on the observance, both in law and in practice, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and, through these and other appropriate means, to draw public attention to those matters”.
- and its Article 12.2, which provides that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”;
iv.Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by the Syrian Arab Republic.
Addresses:
· President, His Excellency Bashar al-Assad, Presidential Palace, al Rashid Street, Damascus, Syria Arab Republic, Fax: +963 11 332 3410
· Minister of Defence, His Excellency General, Ali Habib Mahmud, Ministry of Defence, O mayyad Square, Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic, Fax: +963 11 223 7842
· Minister of Justice, His Excellency Mr. Tayzeer Qala Awwad, Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic, Fax: +963 11 666 2460
· Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Wallid Mu’allim, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, al-Rashid Street, Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic, Fax: +963 11 332 7620
· Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari, Permanent Mission of the Syrian Arab Republic to UN in Geneva, 72 rue de Lausanne, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: +41 22 738 42 75, Email: mission.syria@ties.itu.in
· Embassy the Syrian Arab Republic in Brussels, 1 avenue F.D. Roosevelt, 1050 Brussels, Belgium, Tel: +32 2 554 19 22; Fax: +32 2 648 14 85
Please also write to the diplomatic mission or embassy of the Syrian Arabic Republic in your respective country.
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Paris-Geneva, July 26, 2011
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
· E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
· Tel and fax FIDH + 33 (0) 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1 43 55 18 80
· Tel and fax OMCT + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29