Activist held incommunicado at risk of torture

originally published:
24th November 2009

Amnesty International has expressed its concern for a Syrian political activist, held incommunicado since 15 November and believed to be at risk of torture or other ill-treatment.

Yousef Dheeb al-Hmoud was arrested at his home in the city of Deir az-Zawr, eastern Syria. His family were unable to identify the security force that the arresting officers belonged to.

The authorities have not revealed where Yousef Dheeb al-Hmoud is being held, why he was arrested or whether he will be charged. He had previously been summoned for questioning by Syrian security forces on several occasions, most recently by Political Security earlier this month.

Yousef Dheeb al-Hmoud is a member of the Islamic Democratic Current, an Islamist political group which demands democratic reform in Syria and is opposed to the use of violence. It is part of the Damascus Declaration for Democratic National Change (DDDNC), an unauthorized umbrella body comprising opposition groups in Syria.

There are widespread reports of torture and other ill-treatment in Syria’s detention and interrogation centres. People suspected of affiliation to unauthorized Islamist groups are at particular risk of arbitrary detention, torture or other ill-treatment. Syrian security forces personnel generally benefit from impunity for such violations.

Scores of people were arrested in August 2008, mostly in Deir az-Zawr, but also in the cities of Aleppo and Hama. One of those arrested, Mohammed Amin al-Shawa, died in custody in January 2009; according to Syrian human rights organizations, he died as a result of being tortured.

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Posted by Administrator on 27/11/2009. Filed under Human Rights,Questionable Convictions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry