UNION INTERNATIONALE DES AVOCATS
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LAWYERS
UNION INTERNACIONAL DE ABOGADOS
INTERNATIONALE ANWALTSUNION
UNIONE INTERNAZIONALE DEGLI AVVOCATI
UNIÃO INTERNACIONAL DE ADVOGADOS
Rassembler les avocats du monde ♦ Bringing Together the World's Lawyers ♦ Reunir a los abogados del mundo
Driss CHATER
Président
President
Presidente
34, boulevard Hassan II
30000 FES – Maroc
Tel +212 (5535) 62 37 43/ Fax: +212 (35) 65 19 11
E-mail: [email protected]
His Excellency Bashar al-Assad
Presidential Palace
al Rashid Street
Damascus
Syria Arab Republic
Transmitted by fax and by post: +963 11 332 3410 (2 pages)
Paris, December, 22, 2011
Your Excellency,
The UIA has been informed by reliable sources about new acts of harassment, arbitrary detention and
torture against several human rights lawyers in Syria.
We are writing to express our particular concern about the case of lawyer Abdul Salam Al-Atrash who
was arrested without a warrant by military security officers on September 12, 2011 at his place of residence
in Aleppo (Hamdania). He remains detained in an unknown location without charge and no information
was given by the authorities on his status and condition. No charges were reportedly brought against him.
Mr. Al-Atrash was last seen at the branch of military security in Damascus, where he was severely
tortured, in critical health and suffering from mental breakdown.
We are also worried about the case of Mr. Hussam Al-Assaad, member of the Idleb branch of the Bar
Association. According to several NGOs, he was arrested in late November, and was subjected to harsh
torture at the Military Intelligence Branch in Aleppo. Several parts of his body were allegedly skinned off.
Mr. Hussam Al-Assaad would require urgent medical care.
The UIA has been informed of the arrest of the Syrian human rights lawyer Mr. Fahd El-Moussa at
Hama as well. According to the information received, this arrest would be directly related to his work
concerning the defence of human rights.
In addition, the UIA has been informed that security forces and semi-security forces raided the home of
Mr. Ali Badran in Tel Rfat, as well as the houses of Messrs. Youssef Horan and Mohamed Haji
Abdullah in Aleppo, who escaped arrest attempts, respectively on November 8, December 2 and
November 30, 2011. Their names were reportedly sent to all the branches of the intelligence services. To
date, the three remain in hiding to escape arbitrary arrest and torture.
The UIA urges you to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Messrs Abdul Salam AlAtrash, Hussam Al-Assaad, Fahd El-Poussa, Ali Badran, Youssef Horan and Mohamed Haji Abdullah, in
all circumstances and more generally all human rights defenders in Syria.
M:\TEXTES\DROITS HOMME et DEFENSE\DEFENSE DE LA PROFESSION\Défense des Avocats\Syrie\2011\UIA_Letter_Syrian_Lawyers_111222_EN.doc
Association Internationale Sans But Lucratif (AISBL) – N° AISBL : 0408.288.242
Correspondance à : UIA – 25, rue du Jour – 75001 Paris (France)
Tél. : +33 1 44 88 55 66 / Fax : +33 1 44 88 55 77 / E-mail : [email protected] / Web : www.uianet.org
Siège Social : Palais de Justice - Place Poelaert - 1000 Bruxelles (Belgique)
Furthermore, the UIA condemns the arrests of Messrs. Abdul Salam Al-Atrash; Mr. Fahd El-Moussa and
Hussam Al-Assaad, as they seem to merely aim at sanctioning their human rights activities. We request
that you disclose their whereabouts, and call for their immediate and unconditional release.
The UIA requests you to put an end to any kind of harassment - including at the judicial level - against
Messrs. Al-Atrash, Al-Assad, El-Moussa, Badran, Horan and Haji Abdullah, and more generally against all
human rights defenders in Syria.
The UIA recalls the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the
General Assembly of the United Nations on December, 9, 1998, especially:
- 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”,
- 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 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”.
We would like also to insist on Art. 23 of the UN Basic Principles on the role of Lawyers adopted in
September 1990 by the Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment
of Offenders which state: “Lawyers like other citizens are entitled to freedom of expression, belief, association and
assembly. In particular, they shall have the right to take part in public discussion of matters concerning the law, the
administration of justice and the promotion and protection of human rights and to join or form local, national or international
organizations and attend their meetings, without suffering professional restrictions by reason of their lawful action or their
membership in a lawful organization. In exercising these rights, lawyers shall always conduct themselves in accordance with
the law and the recognized standards and ethics of the legal profession”.
Those principles were adopted unanimously by the States represented at the Eighth Congress and Syria
was among those States. We consider that the said Principles have a normative value on account of
customary international law and should be respected by the Syrian authorities which agreed to their
adoption.
In view of the above, the UIA urges you today to ensure respect for human rights and fundamental
freedoms in all circumstances in accordance with international human rights standards and international
instruments ratified by the Syrian Arab Republic.
Thank you for your kind attention and consideration for this urgent matter
__________________________
Driss CHATER4 75 7
6 77 78 79 80
Cc:
Ambassade de Syrie en France
20, rue Vaneau - 75007 Paris
Fax: 01.47.05.92.73
M:\TEXTES\DROITS HOMME et DEFENSE\DEFENSE DE LA PROFESSION\Défense des Avocats\Syrie\2011\UIA_Letter_Syrian_Lawyers_111222_EN.doc
Association Internationale Sans But Lucratif (AISBL) – N° AISBL : 0408.288.242
Correspondance à : UIA – 25, rue du Jour – 75001 Paris (France)
Tél. : +33 1 44 88 55 66 / Fax : +33 1 44 88 55 77 / E-mail : [email protected] / Web : www.uianet.org
Siège Social : Palais de Justice - Place Poelaert - 1000 Bruxelles (Belgique)