Petition Tag - syria

18/05/2013 - Letter sent to the Secretary-General Mr. Ban Ki-moon

Bilal Ahmed Bilal 26 a graduate of Arts and Humanities at the University of Damascus worked as a television journalist and filmmaker in Syria. Bilal has been held for over a year incommunicado. It was reported by a released prisoner that Bilal was taken from the capital’s Mezzeh airport to Sednaya prison and has not been seen since April 2012.

Bilal was an outspoken individual and advocate of the revolution in his hometown Sham Medmah. Bilal became targeted by the government and was ambushed by air force intelligence in Damascus. as he was preparing his paper-work to travel on assignment. Bilal lhas a wife and young child that are waiting for his return. According to the amnesty decree Bilal is eligible for release but has not been released.

Link story:

http://forusa.org/content/bilal-ahmed-bilal

http://globalfree.wordpress.com/2012/09/25/syria-bilal-ahmed-bilal-the-imprisoned-journalist/

View petition

Syria's sectarian civil war is endangering Shi'ite shrines.

Detailed information about the problem can be found at http://goo.gl/bfwD1 and here, http://goo.gl/bhyhl

View petition

Over 60,000 deaths have occurred in Syria since the first and peaceful protests against President Assad began. In addition, Turkey and other neighboring countries, are overfilling with fleeing refugee's who do not want to die in Syria.

Hundreds of thousands of Syrian's have fled the bloodbath in Syria. Children lay dead on the Syrian's streets, women are being raped, and men are being tortured by the Assad regime.

View petition

Syrian detainees are being medievally tortured and raped by Syrian authorities, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) accused.

At least 194,000 citizens, including approximately 9000 teenagers have been detained by Syrian regime forces. 1215 of these people have been killed, the organisation claimed, with a minimum of 60,000 enforced disappearances.

The organisation alleged that a large number of prisoners suffered through 44 different methods of physical as well as psychological torture, which involved victims being tied and beaten as well as forced sexual humiliation.

There are currently 72 detention centres in Syria controlled by the Air Force, the Army, the Intelligence Agency as well as security forces. An SNHR statement read; “We harshly condemn and renounce all methods of torture practiced by the Syrian government, which is held responsible for all Syrian governments’ staff and institutions”.

The SNHR has called upon the international community and the U.N Security Council to act with the utmost urgency and enforce the humanitarian laws and constitutions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aX82oQ7NgYo&feature=player_embedded&bpctr=1359283762

View petition

We, as academics and scientists, anxiously follow the recent cross-border incidents that have been taking place between Turkey and Syria. We may disagree about the particular dynamics of the turmoil in Syria; however, we strongly agree that any foreign intervention is not the answer.

We believe that military interference in Syria will contribute to the escalating tension between the countries in the region as well as among their international allies. Considering the disorder in Syria and the current fragile political balance in the region, we are tremendously concerned that these critical actions against Syria will lead to more casualties within the country and trigger further wars in the Middle East.

Wars kill people, destroy millions of lives and deteriorate living conditions of the poor and lower strata; but also demolish world’s cultural heritage, historical resources, and intellectual accumulation of thousands of years and leave permanent damage on public health and ecology. We witnessed, with sorrow, the most recent example of a cruel demolition of this sort during the occupation of Iraq.

Therefore, we object Turkey’s ongoing aggressive policy and any possible NATO operation in Syria. We are against any foreign operation that violates the Syrian people's right of self-determination. Herein, we call for world's attention to the wide-spread and strong anti-war sentiments of the people in Turkey, contrary to the deceitful representations of the international mainstream media.

View petition

As you may know since January 2011, thousands of Syrians in various cities started protesting against the Syrian government demanding reforms. Their peaceful demonstration turned to bloodshed as it was violently suppressed by the government.

As the demonstrations grows in Syria, the government uses tanks and bombs to suppress the crowd, they gun down the medical centers and use children as human shield.

More than 20,000 people have been killed; most of them are women and children. About 1,200,000 are homeless; of which, half of them are children. 230,000 have escaped to the neighboring countries.

UN Security Council has passed three Resolutions in three different occasions demanding the Syrian government to stop the bloodshed. But they have been vetoed all three times by China and Russia.

We would like to express our objection to Russia’s and China’s Veto right as they are unconditionally supporting Syria’s oppressive regime.

همانطور که می دانید، از ژانویه ۲۰۱۱، هزاران نفر از مرم سوریه در شهرهای مختلف آن، در اعتراض به دولت سوریه، تظاهرات کردند و خواهان انجام اصلاحت در دولت شدند. اعتراضات مسالمت آمیز مردم توسط نیروهای نظامی سوریه به شدت سرکوب شد و تظاهرات به خاک و خون کشیده شد.
با ادامه و گسترش اعتراضات، دولت سوریه برای سرکوب معترضان از تانک و بمباران هوایی استفاده می کند، مراکز درمانی را به گلوله می بندد و از کودکان به عنوان سپر انسانی استفاده می کند.
تا کنون حدود ۲۰،۰۰۰ نفر کشته شده اند که بسیاری را زنان و کودکان تشکیل می دهند، نزدیک به ۱میلیون و ۲۰۰ هزار نفر در درون سوریه آواره شده اند که نیمی از آن را کودکان تشکیل می دهند و ۲۳۰،۰۰۰ نفر به کشورهای همسایه گریخته اند.
شورای امنیت سازمان ملل متحد ، در ۳ نوبت قطعنامه هایی علیه دولت سوریه به منظور توقف جنگ و خونریزی به تصویب رساند که هر ۳ بار توسط دولتهای چین و روسیه وتو شد.
ما می خواهیم مخالفت خود را با داشتن حق وتوی چین و روسیه به علت حمایت همه جانبه خود از دولت سرکوبگر سوریه اعلام کنیم.

View petition

This letter will be sent to Robert Ford (U.S. Ambassador to Syria) the June 13, 2013.

You can add your signature to letter through this petition.

Sign and share widely! Thanks!

View petition

A 17-year-old boy, Salah al-Shogre (or al-Shogri), brother of a detained activist, was arrested on 28 July in Syria and has been held incommunicado since then. His whereabouts are unknown, and he may be at risk of torture and other ill-treatment.

Salah al-Shogre and his father were stopped at a check point on 28 July, near their home in the coastal city of Banias. According to a relative who lives outside Syria, both Salah al-Shogre and his father were taken to the political security branch in Banias, where Salah al-Shogre was separated from his father for questioning.

Salah al-Shogre’s father asked the security forces where his son had been taken, and was told: "If you want to see your son, go to Tartus." The authorities have given no reasons for his arrest, or revealed where he is, but an unofficial source has told Salah al-Shogre’s family that he is being held at the Military Security branch in the city of Tartus.

Amnesty International is not aware of the reasons for Salah al-Shogre’s arrest. His older brother Anas, who had organized demonstrations in Banias, has been held in incommunicado detention since May 2011. If Salah al-Shogre is held solely in connection with his brother’s activism, he would be a prisoner of conscience and Amnesty International would call for his immediate and unconditional release.

International standards require that detainees' families are notified promptly after their arrest, and that detainees have access to lawyers of their choice throughout their detention and are allowed to communicate with their families.

Salah al-Shogre’s brother, Anas al-Shogre has been detained incommunicado since May 2011 at an unknown location. The authorities have not told his family why he has been detained, and it is not known whether he has been charged. According to Syrian human rights activists and a network responsible for planning and organizing protests, the Local Coordination Committees in Syria (LCC), Anas al-Shogre played a major role in organizing protests in his city of Banias and telling the media what was happening on the ground.

View petition

Abdulrazak Al Zalek was born in Damascus 1988. He is an activist in the Syrian revolution who has been arrested in May 24th, 2012 by the Military security intelligence in Aleppo “the Military security patrol stopped his car and has been inspected and found in the car flags of the revolution and they arrested him with two of his friends immediately.

His friends had released before he was still arrested and after they moved him in Damascus and after all of that there is no information about him. Abdulrazak was a salesman for a medicine company and he lived in Aleppo in Al Hamdanieah.

O Abdulrazak Al Zalek γεννήθηκε στη Δαμασκό το 1988. Είναι ακτιβιστής στην Συριακή επανάσταση και συλλήφθηκε στις 24 Μαΐου του 2012 από την Στρατιωτική ασφάλεια πληροφοριών στο Χαλέπι-Αλέππο. Μια στρατιωτική περίπολος ασφάλειας σταμάτησε το αυτοκίνητο του και έκανε έλεγχο βρίσκοντας στο αυτοκινητό του σημαίες της επανάστασης και αμέσως εγινε η συλληψή του μαζί με δύο φίλους του. Οι φίλοι του αφέθηκαν ελευθεροι, αλλά αυτός κρατήθηκε και μεταφέρθηκε στη Δαμασκό όπου δεν υπάρχουν σχετικές πληροφορίες. Ο Abdulrazak ήταν πωλητής μιας Ιατρικής εταιρείας και ζούσε στο Χαλέπι.

في كل يوم كنا نلتقي .. كان لنا في كل يوم من الذكريات ما لنا ..
شهران على غيابك ..
أحس بخنقة تقتلني .. بشوق كبير لك يا أخي ..
شهر كامل .. انقطعت لقاءاتنا ..

أذكر و لا أنسى حالك قبل يوم من اعتقالك ..

لم أدري يومها ما حل بك .. كنتَ مضطرباً بدون سبب ..
غادرتنا بدون السلام ..
و كأن إحساساً في داخلك أنها مصيبة قادمة ..

منذ ذلك اليوم .. غبت عنا ..

كان الله معك يا أخي ..
كان الله معك و خفف عنك و عن أهلك ..

حسبنا الله و نعم الوكيل .. حسبنا الله و نعم الوكيل

View petition

According to Reporters Without Borders, security officials arrested Fatima, her father, Khaled Saad, and her brother during a search of their home.

They are said to have seized Fatima's digital camera, memory card and telephone.

Reporters Without Borders said. “It seems that Saad’s only crime was to have possessed recordings of songs praising the uprising by Syria’s youth.

Her father and brother were released but Fatima Saad was rushed to Latakia military hospital after being mistreated during a lengthy interrogation by intelligence officers.

On 17 July, she was transferred to the headquarters of the general intelligence department in Damascus where, according to some sources, she is being held in Section 291.

Reporters Without Borders is very concerned about her present physical condition...

View petition

Some bad politicians in the World just want to destroy Syria for unscrupulous and different political reasons, while others just sit and watch it. They're guilty, too.

For too long there has been terrible massacres which have included people, children and animals. STOP IT NOW!

View petition

The Chemical Weapons Convention created by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, outlaws the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons.

Every country in the world has signed this international agreement, except for six countries. Syria is one of them. Various sources reflect that the Syrian government is willing to use their chemical weapons to stop the uprising.

Since chemical weapons can be used for mass killings in a matter of minutes, these atrocities must be stopped.

This petition is sponsered by Project Democracy : www.facebook.com/pdemocracy

View petition

Dr. Mohamad Nour Audi, a Syrian Red Crescent medic, was arrested by Assad's security forces on March 24, 2012. Since then he has been held in detention at a secret facility. Thus, he is at grave risk of torture and other mistreatment.

As a result of this and other hostile acts taken in Syria by the Assad regime, The Syrian Arab Red Crescent has decided to suspend its activities in various parts of the country, affirming that it has not received protection from the Syrian government which instead is obligated to allow it to carry out all of its interventions in safety.

The Syrian Red Crescent have been accused by Assad's forces of being “untrustworthy” and their crucial work has been undermined, as they have been deemed by the concerned authorities as not being “neutral”. In addition to this, several of their volunteers have lost their lives.

View petition

CITIZEN JOURNALIST SENTENCED TO DEATH
FOR AL-JAZEERA INTERVIEW

Reporters Without Borders FRIDAY 18 MAY 2012.

Reporters Without Borders is shocked to learn of the death sentence passed today on the citizen journalist Mohammed Abdelmawla al-Hariri for “high treason and contacts with foreign parties”. He was arrested on 16 April just after giving an interview to the television station Al-Jazeera about the situation in his hometown of Deraa.

“Such a verdict is unacceptable and out of all proportion to Mohamed al-Hariri’s so-called crime of giving an interview to Al-Jazeera,” the press freedom organization said.

“The government of Bashar al-Assad has thus shown the extent of its brutality and cruelty. Reporters Without Borders calls for this contemptible verdict to be overturned and for this citizen journalist to be released immediately.”

According to the SKeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom, Hariri was subjected to horrific torture after his arrest, to the point of being partially paralysed. After the verdict was pronounced, he was transferred to Saidnaya military prison north of Damascus.

Hariri gave regular interviews to Al-Jazeera about the situation on the ground in Deraa in southern Syria, such as this one on 15 April. The Syrian government has accused the Qatari-based station and other foreign media outlets of being part of a global plot to cause chaos in Syria.

Reporters Without Borders lists Assad among 41 predators of freedom of information. Several media workers, citizen journalists and cyber-activists have been killed by the government since the start of the year and dozens more are currently languishing in Syria’s prisons.

View petition

Syrian state TV aired Saturday what it said was a confession by citizen journalist Ali Mahmoud Othman, who activists say was arrested in March after he helped foreign journalists escape from the besieged city of Homs.

Othman helped run a media center in Baba Amr area of Homs, which provided information to international news media during a months-long crackdown on the civilian neighborhood by government forces. Reporters Without Borders, the journalist watchdog group, said last month it was "extremely concerned" for the life of Othman after his detention.

Othman was transferred to Damascus two days after his arrest by the intelligence services in Aleppo on March 28, the group said. Activists fear he may have been subjected to torture in detention. Rafiq Lutf, described as a Syrian media researcher, told the state TV program he had spoken to Othman for seven hours uninterrupted, all of it videotaped.

His subject states his name is "Ali Othman aka Al-Jid from Baba Amr of Homs. I work as photography director and live streaming with Khalid Abu Salah at the media center. I communicate with the satellite channels, on top of them Al Jazeera, Arabiya, CNN, BBC, Sky News and Turkish channel TRT." In the interview Othman describes how the media operation was set up in Baba Amr, and talks about demonstrations and the role of armed groups. It is unclear under what circumstances the interview was taped.

But Heather Blake, UK representative for Reporters Without Borders, said: "Research by our organization and many other organizations indicates that many human rights defenders who are detained have been shown to give false confessions under much duress and torture.

"We would advise anyone watching this to be very aware of that fact. The fact that Othman was arrested after committing no crime would suggest that he is speaking under duress." Reporters Without Borders calls for Othman's release and for justice to be served, Blake said.

Foreign news outlets have been severely limited during the government's bloody year-long crackdown against protesters. Critics say that the government has been dutifully working to stifle such independent reporting. Amateur videographers and news reporters dubbed "citizen journalists" have braved violence to undermine the government's news coverage restrictions. They have helped those international journalists who were able to sneak into Syria and report. And they have produced videos, photos and print reports every day that bear witness to the brutal crackdown.

Woes mount in Syria as UN mission grows Head of U.N. mission arrives in Syria U.N. response in Syria mocked. Those reports have helped news outlets around the world tell the story of the violence. Speaking shortly after Othman's arrest, Paul Conroy, a British photographer who was injured in the Baba Amr offensive, said the regime was taking steps "to ensure that independent reporting becomes impossible."
He said Othman helped him escape from Baba Amr, hammered for weeks by the military until resistance fighters retreated. Activists say other parts of the city continue to be shelled.

"After the attack and treatment of the wounded he played a significant role in assisting in our escape from Baba Amr. All our efforts must now be concentrated on saving his life. If it wasn't for him, no Western media would have been able to work in Baba Amr and bear witness to the slaughter of the civilian population," Conroy said.

The team that worked with Othman in Baba Amr has been pushing for the release of Othman and other detained activists.

Reporters Without Borders has also called for their release.

"Citizen journalists whose only crimes are to have witnessed, filmed and photographed acts of violence by a regime that persists in its deadly folly are being hunted down, arrested, tortured and murdered," the group said in a statement last month.

"We hold the Syrian authorities responsible for whatever may happen to them. The regime is more determined than ever to suppress all information about its crackdown. Syria has become a hell for both professional and citizen journalists."

A peace plan brokered by international envoy Kofi Annan last month calls on Syria to ensure freedom of movement for journalists in the country.

An apparent violation occurred this week when Sky News, a British broadcaster, said Syrian officials confiscated a television camera after a crew filmed an impromptu protest in Damascus.

SOURCE : CNN May 5, 2012

View petition

Turkish journalists, Adem Özköse and Hamit Coşkun disappeared in Idlib March 2012, and were reported to have been kidnapped by Syrian regime agents along with their fellow Bhaa Al-Deen, who was released later, They are being detained in Security Branchnumber 285 in Kafr Souseh, Damascus in the northern prison and they are kept in a 1.5 M. solitary confinement.

Reporter Özköse and cameraman Coşkun entered Syria over a month ago in order to film a documentary and report on developments there, Ali Adakoğlu, chief editor at their newspaper, Milat, told IPI Turkey at the time. Özköse is also a correspondent for Gercek Hayat (Real Life) magazine, reports say.

Their last contact with their offices was on March 10. Later that month, Turkish officials confirmed that the journalists were alive and said the Syrian government had confirmed it knew of their whereabouts, but denied reports suggesting Turkey would consider exchanging a number of Syrian generals who had defected for the journalists.

At least one of the detained journalists is reported to have been tortured.

"We are deeply alarmed at suggestions that Adem Özköse and Hamit Coşkun appear to be in the custody of the Syrian government, and that at least one of the two journalists may have been tortured,” said International Press Institute Acting Deputy Director Anthony Mills. “If the two journalists are in fact in the hands of the authorities then they must be released immediately, along with all of the other Syrian reporters who have been detained. Furthermore, those responsible for maltreatment in any form must be held accountable.”

View petition

Isma’il Othman al-Salihah, age 70, is from from Maarat al-Numaan, in the north-western Idlib province. He was arrested on 19 March 2012. An eye-witness told Isma’il Othman al-Salihah’s son Ghassan al-Salihah, that his father was arrested at a temporary check-point near the city of Aleppo, known by locals to be controlled by the Air Force Intelligence Directorate (Idarat al-Mukhabarat al-Jawiyya)--possibly the most powerful of Assad's secret police agencies

Ghassan al-Salihah, who participated in pro-reform demonstrations and other activities, believes his father was arrested in relation to pro-reform activities by family members. Ghassan al-Salihah, who is not currently in Syria, was detained by State Security officials on 31 April 2011 in relation to his activities and was released without charge on 1 June 2011 in a general amnesty covering "all members of political movements, including the Muslim Brotherhood”.

Isma’il Othman al-Salihah is a retired secondary school teacher and, according to his son, has not been politically active since pro-reform demonstrations began in 2011.

If he was arrested solely in relation his son’s activities, then he is a prisoner of conscience who is at terrible risk of torture as long as he is being held incommunicado. There is further concern for Isma’il Othman al-Salihah’s well-being as he requires daily medication for diabetes and high blood pressure.

View petition

الشاب البطل علي محمود عثمان المعروف "بالجد", ذو الأربع وثلاثين ربيعاً صاحب القلب الطيب, الأخ الأكبر لنا ...
كان بائعاً للخضار قبل الثورة يعتاش من عمله المتواضع في السوق في بابا عمرو, كان من أوائل الثائرين ضد الظلم والطغيان في سوريا, وأول عمل له في الثورة السورية كان كمتظاهر أمام نيران القناصة ودبابات النظام السوري .
ثم قام الناشط علي عثمان بمشاركة أصدقائه بالعمل في مجال الإعلام وكمصور ميداني لتصوير المظاهرات في حي بابا عمرو والأحداث فيها .
ومن اشهر واقوى ما التقتطه كميرته هو اول فيدو للقصف حيث علق فيه قائلا:
باباعمرو تقصف ...أين أنتم يا عرب
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jipWA3nCmsA
باباعمرو تقصف أين أنتم يا عرب :اول فيدو قصف يلتقط

وحياته أثناء الثورة كلها كانت خطراً بخطر ... وأشدها حين تم قصف المكتب الاعلامي في حي بابا عمرو مرتين ..
القصف الأول:قصف المكتب الاعلامي وعلي عثمان موجود وصوته واضح وهو يقول طفو كميرة البث المباشر كشفو المكان
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-Muq7q58H4
فيديو اثتاء قصف المكتب الأعلامي
وساعد بأسعاف جرحى ونقل قتلى ناتجة عن قصف المكتب الاعلامي
http://www.mediafire.com/?988ci7utpkc76mt

في القصف الثاني للمركز الاعلامي الذي أدى لمقتل الصحفيين ماري كولفن وريمي اوشليك وجرح اثنين من الناشطين من المكتب الاعلامي في الحي .
حيث عرض نفسه للخطر الكبير بأنقاذ الجرحى وتصوير مقتل الصحفيين (ماري كولفن-ريمي اوشلك) بعد دقائق من مقتلهم غير مكترث بالقصف المستمر
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aW4ixWz4qhg
مقتل الصحفيين بعد قصف المكتب الاعلامي

الناشط الاعلامي والصحفي علي محمود عثمان من المكتب الاعلامي تم اعتقاله في حلب
بعد ان خرج من باباعمرو مجبرا ونحن في المكتب الاعلامي نناشد المنظمات الحقوقية والانسانية
في جميع انحاء العالم كما اتحاد الصحفيين العرب والأمم المتحدة بالتدخل السريع لأنقاذ حياة الناشط علي عثمان
الذي تعرض لأشد انواع التعذيب منذ اعتقاله الى الان وكما نحمل المسؤولية الكاملة للنظام السوري
عن أي مكروه قد يصيبه علما أن الصحفي علي عثمان كان يساعد بأسعاف الجرحى وله دور كبير بأنقاذ حياة الصحفيين:
ايدت بوفييه
باول كونري
ويليام دانييل
خافيير
كما انه معروف لدى الصحافة الذين دخلوا حي باباعمرو بما أنه كان يرافقهم بجولاتهم في الحي.
و قام الصحفي علي عثمان بعمل بطولي وعرض حياته للخطر الكبير بأن قام بنقل المجزرة التي
حصلت بالصحفيين الى وسائل الاعلام العربية والاجنبية بعد قصف المكتب الاعلامي بالصواريخ بدقائق قليلة :
ماري كولفن
ريمي اوشلك
والنشطاء الذين كان وباقي الصحفيين بداخل المكتب الاعلامي.

View petition

Student activist, Jaqar Khoen Mullah Ahmed, a member of Syria’s Kurdish minority, has not been seen since 3 March. There are fears he may have been arrested by the security forces. If so, with the security forces denying he is in their custody, he has been subjected to enforced disappearance. He is at risk of torture and other ill-treatment.

Jaqar Khoen Mullah Ahmed is a student at the University of Aleppo. He was last seen when he left the apartment he shares with fellow students around on 3 March. A contact told Amnesty International that after he left the apartment, heavily armed but unidentified security officials raided it, taking Jaqar Khoen Mullah Ahmed’s laptop. Jaqar Khoen Mullah Ahmed was previously arrested and detained for about 10 days in relation to his involvement in student activism and focus on Kurdish rights. He recently changed apartments in fear of another arrest.

On 5 March, Military Security officials visited Jaqar Khoen Mullah Ahmed’s family in Qamishli, north-eastern Syria. The men enquired about Jaqar Khoen Mullah Ahmed’s activities, his age, and education. When the family asked about the whereabouts of their son, the men denied that he was in their custody and insisted that their enquiry was routine. His family has received no information concerning his fate or whereabouts since 3 March but believes the available information points to his having been arrested.

If, Jaqar Khoen Mullah Ahmed is now detained by security forces, the authorities should immediately inform his family of his whereabouts, permit him to make contact with them, and ensure that he has access to a lawyer and necessary medical care. He should be released unless he is charged with a recognizable criminal offence and tried in compliance with international fair trial standards. If he is held for his peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression and assembly then Amnesty International considers him a prisoner of conscience and would call for his immediate and unconditional release.

View petition

Jiwan Abdulrahman Khaled was arrested on March 5, 2012 along with his father and brothers by Assad's security forces.

After a brief period of detention, his father and brothers were released. During his imprisonment and interrogation, Jiwan's father--who has suffered strokes in the past-- had his fingers broken.

Jiwan Abdulrahman Khaled remains in prison and is considered a political prisoner. There are grave concerns that he is being tortured, as was done to his father.

View petition

In a new escalation against freedom of expression and media work in Syria, the Office of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM) in Damascus was raided on Thursday 16 February at approximately one and a half PM by agents of the Air Intelligence Intelligence (Mazzeh branch).

The raid, that was carried out by members of the security apparatus along with a group of armed men, who caused panic and fear among employees and visitors of the center, especially since the officer in charge did not disclose the arrest or search warrants that are supposed to be issued by a public prosecutor.

The security forces took the IDs of SCM employees and visitors in addition to their mobile phones. They were prevented from proceeding their work and were asked to gather in one room until 4 PM; they were transferred to the Air force Intelligence detention center of Mazzeh then.

Following are the names of staff and administrators who have been arrested that day:

1 - Mazen Darwish, director of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of expression.

2 - Yara Badr, Syrian journalist and the wife of Mazen Darwish.

3 - Hani Zitani, a graduate of the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Sociology and university teacher.

4 - Sana Zitani, a graduate of the Faculty of Sociology and wife Hani Zitani.

5 - Abdel Rahman Hamada, student at the Institute of Accounting.

6 - Hussein Gharir, graduate at the Faculty of Information Engineering.

7 - Mansour Al Omari, English literature graduate from Damascus University.

8 - Joan Fersso, a graduate of the Faculty of Arabic literature.

9 - Mayada Khalil, graduate at the University of archaeology in Aleppo.

10 – Ayham Ghazoul, a dentist.

11 - Bassam Al-Ahmed, a graduate of the Faculty of Arabic literature.

12 - Razan Ghazzawi, a graduate in English literature.

13 - Rita Dayoub.

Two visitors were also arrested; Shady Yazbek (student in medicine) and Hanadi Zahlout.

Female employees working at the center were released on Saturday 18 Feb 2012 around 10 PM (Yara Badr - Sanaa Mohsen - Mayada Khalil - Razan Ghazzawi) in addition to the visitor Hanadi Zahlout on one condition that at they are to show up at Air force Security every day from 9AM to 2PM for further investigation until unspecified date. Rita Dayoub was released.

The arrest of the President of the SCM, "Mazen Darwish," and male colleagues and visitor, however, continues: Hani Zitani - Abdel Rahman Hamada - Hussein Ghrer - Mansur Al Omari - Bassam Al-Ahmad -Ayham Ghazoul - Joan Fersso, and the visitor Shady Yazbek are still in custody.

Mazen Darwish was born in 1974 and graduated from Law School at Damascus University in 1998. A couple of years later he already began to advocate human rights and freedom of speech in particular by helping to establish the Committees for the Defence of Democratic Freedom and Human Rights (CDF) with a group of Syrian activists.

His fight for freedom of expression intensified in 2004, when he said, “there are no prisons to accommodate free speech” and claimed, “we cannot wait another 40 years”. Darwish then founded the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM), the first non-profit organisation advocating human rights and defending freedom of speech in Syria. His aim was to highlight and spread freedom of opinion and expression, belief, variety and tolerance within the Syrian society, while promoting the work of journalists and defenders of these freedoms.

Providing legal and technical support to journalists and activists, as well as researching and publishing reports and around 10 studies on human rights abuses has put the SCM on the Syrian government´s watch list. Since its foundation the SCM´s members were subject to harassment, Darwish arrested and beaten several times. The authorities finally shut down the Centre´s offices in 2009.

Darwish and the SCM´s members continued their work undercover and have been one of the most important contributors to the fight for human rights in Syria though living in constant fear and facing enormous difficulties. In 2011 the SCM was granted “Consultative Status” by the UN´s Economic and Social Council, ECOSOC.

UPDATE JUNE 9, 2012: Reports Without Borders has issued the following statement:
"According to our sources, he has been badly tortured in detention. We have good reason to think his life is in danger because he suffers from serious ailments and his condition could worsen rapidly if he is not getting the treatment he needs. The Syrian authorities refuse to say where he is being held. He is not being allowed access to his family or lawyers, in complete violation of international law. So far, no charges have been brought against him.

Darwish is in grave danger. The authorities arrested him in order to silence him, because he was telling the outside world about acts of violence by a regime that persists in its deadly folly. A staunch defender of human rights and freedom of expression, Darwish played a key role in providing daily information about the situation in Syria, at a time when almost all foreign journalists are banned from visiting the country.

Without the courage of Syrian journalists and bloggers, no freely reported news and information would be available."

View petition

Saeed Ali Ibrahim,date of birth ;1st of September 1973,in Qamishli, Syria.

Date of arrest is 27th October 2011 and he is kept in "Adra Prison" near Damascus, Syria .

Fake accusations for arresting him are "financing terrorist groups" according to the government.
But the truth is that he was committed into healing and helping people that got injured during their protest against the regime's dictatorship.

He occasionally is allowed to call his mother, although only for a minute or so. He has been repetitively tortured during his imprisonment, both verbally (humiliating him, disrespecting his human rights) and physically (beaten up, and physically tortured in different ways.

View petition

On November 14, 2011 it was announced that Russia will honor all arms contacts with Syria despite continuing violence against anti-government protesters in the country, a senior military official said on Sunday.

“Since there are no restrictions on the supply of arms to Syria, Russia will fulfill its obligations under the contracts signed with this country,” Vyacheslav Dzirkaln, deputy head of Russia’s Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation, told reporters in Dubai.

THIS DESPITE THE FACT THAT OVER 3,500 (UPDATE: That figure is from November, 2011; as of February 2012 the number is OVER 6,000!!! ) (Sorry, that needs to be updated yet AGAIN: On the LAST day of February, 2012, the UN estimated the death toll is now "well over" 7,500, with 100 civilians dying every day!!) SYRIAN MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN HAVE BEEN SLAUGHTERED BY ASSAD'S SECURITY FORCES, AND THE FACT THAT THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION KNOWS VERY WELL THAT THE ARMS IT IS SELLING TO SYRIA ARE GOING DIRECTLY TO HAVE!!

View petition

Yaman Al Qadri, 19 year-old and a second year dermatology student at Damascus University, has been arbitrarily detained after she was severely beaten by security forces and armed government militia thugs (Shabeeha) in the guard gate of the University.

On 3 November 2011, an estimated 10 Syrian security agents viciously beat Yaman in front of her classmates at Damascus University, dragging her, throwing her into the walls, and brutally assaulting her. She was then forcibly taken along with a classmate to an unknown location. Her classmate was released an hour after the arrest but Yaman is still being held incommunicado.

Yaman faces grave danger and is at risk of torture, as the regime has systematically attacked health workers and professionals who are speaking up against repression and helping the injured.

View petition

The inhumanity of dictator Bashar al Assad is appalling and apocalyptic. People in Syria have been under a prolonged and bloody assault by Assad’s forces, the violent repression is increasing on a daily basis, while governments that have a responsibility in the face of crimes against humanity under the Geneva Convention remain criminally silent.

[full background statement here: http://missionfreeiran.org/2011/09/22/we-demand-an-end-to-assad-regime/]

We, concerned people around the world, make the following urgent, immediate demands of governments worldwide:

View petition

Syria is a home for so many religions and ethnic groups. It is the heart of multiculturalism with over 20 000 000 residents from Syria and all around the world. For the last 40 years, Syrians have been suffering under the Assad Regime.

We have witnessed the Hama Masacre in 1982, the nonrecognition of the Kurdish Syrian community and since February of 2011, president Bashar Al-Assad has sent out his military to murder thousands of children, young adults and peaceful protestors to silence their cry for human rights!

View petition

Syria:

Over 2750 people have been killed since protesters took to the streets in mid-March, All of them shot by Syrian government security forces. This number is rising each week.

over 27 Thousands have been detained and some have been tortured. There are allegations of extrajudicial executions and other unlawful killings, arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances.

Bashar al-Asad is now killing his own people with his Navy ships, planes, and tanks.

“What is most outrageous is that the people targeted are civilians who are exercising their legitimate rights, which are taken for granted in most democracies. It is shocking then that the President and his security forces could fire and kill those people” – Navi Pillay, UN human rights chief, on the findings of her team’s inquiry into violations of human rights in Syria. http://goo.gl/RZC51 Report: http://goo.gl/8BFn6 By United Nations Human Rights

We wish and hope for global peace and justice to those who have suffered from injustice and acts of violence.

Yours truly,
http://youtu.be/xNDVziFI_Vc
http://youtu.be/pNvRoP9qXeI
http://youtu.be/xCoOVWzpzrM

View petition

Iranians Condemn Bashar al-Assad and Islamic Republic of Iran’s Crimes Committed against the Freedom Fighters of Syria!

View petition

Four months after Obama offered Syria's brutal and fascist leader an ultimatum to lead reform or leave, Bashar Assad's crackdown on dissent rages on . . . .

مردم مظلوم سوریه ماههاست که زیر شدیدترین انواع بی رحمی از سوی رژیم فاشیست بعثی این کشور هستند. بیش از 1500 نفر کشته و دهها هزار نفر آواره هستند و این رژیم بی رحم به جنایات غیر انسانی خود بی پروا ادامه میدهد. سکوت جامعه جهانی در این زمینه غیر قابل قبول است. هر انسان شرافتمندی در هر گوشه از جهان البته باید که در این زمینه گامی هر چند کوچک برداشته و دولتهای جهان را تحت فشار گذارد که به این همه قساوت قلب و بی شرافتی و تروریسم دولتی پایان دهند

View petition

Dear President Obama, I am writing to express my deep concern about the situation in Syria, and to ask for your support. In your speech in May, you said that Bashar Assad could "lead [a] transition ... or get out of the way."

By now it is painfully obvious that he does not intend to allow a transition to democracy or any kind of meaningful change for his people. This, combined with the brutal tactics used by his security forces, makes Bashar Assad unfit to govern.

View petition