From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord@igc.org>
Newsgroups: soc.rights.human
Date: 24 Jul 92 09:52 PDT
Subject: SYRIA: Prisoners stay in jail despi
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1476700257:000:4802
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!hrcoord    Jul 24 09:52:00 1992


From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord>
Subject: SYRIA: Prisoners stay in jail despi

/* Written 12:04 am  Jul 24, 1992 by newsdesk in
cdp:ips.englibrary */ Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all
rights reserved.  Permission to re- print within 7 days of
original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: SYRIA: Prisoners stay in jail despite pardon says Amnesty


london, jul 21 (ips) -- though syria unexpectedly freed 2,000
political prisoners early this year, hundreds more have since been
arrested, the human rights watchdog amnesty international says in
a report to be published wednesday.

the sudden mass release of political prisoners revealed the
dramatic scale of human rights violations in syria over almost 30
years, amnesty says.

but any hope that the releases signal a change soon withered as
the government proceeded to imprison hundreds of president hafez
al-assad's political opponents and human rights activists, some
without charge or trial.

the mass releases followed two amnesties announced by assad in
december 1991 and march 1992. though 3,464 have been pardoned,
amnesty could only find confirmation of the release of about 2,000
between december 1991 and april 1992.

the government has not replied to amnesty requests for full
details of all releases.

''the presidential pardons granted in the last seven months do not
redeem the country's record on human rights,'' the report says.

''we hoped earlier this year that syria was beginning to right
past wrongs and that international law would at last be respected.
but despite recent releases, political suspects continue to be
arrested.

''despite the amnesties, prisoners of conscience remain locked up.
despite its official prohibition, torture is still rife. this has
been the pattern of violations for 30 years. where is the
change?''

the charges against syria echoes the tone of the amnesty
international's world report published early this month which said
democratic forces seizing power in many countries have continued
the human rights violations of despotic predecessors.

in syria, many of the freed prisoners had been held under state-
of-emergency legislation in force since 1963. the laws allow
indefinite detention without charge or trial of anyone suspected
of ''endangering security and public order''. (more/ips)

syria: prisoners stay in jail despite pardon says amnesty(2-e)

syria: prisoners (2)

amnesty estimates that the number of people held under this law
run in the thousands, with some in jail for over two decades.

one of the longest held prisoners is former army officer ahmad
suwaidani, who was jailed in 1963. other long-serving political
prisoners are 16 officials of the former government arrested in
1970 and 1971.

the report outlines a pattern of arrest and imprisonment that
usually begins with detention under the government's wide
emergency powers.

prisoners are usually human rights activists, former government
officials, members of professional associations and suspected
political opponents of assad. the arrests are carried out by the
al-mukhabarat al-'akariyya military intelligence or by the al-amn
al-siyassi political security.

amnesty has asked the syrian government for authorisation to
attend the trials of hundreds of political prisoners reportedly
about to be brought to court after many years in jail.

''unfortunately, in our experience, political trials are rare in
syria,'' amnesty says, ''when they are held they invariably fall
short of international standards of fairness.''

in march, ten human rights activists including lawyer aktham
nu'aysa were sentenced to up to 10 years in jail after trial
proceedings held behind closed doors and the denial of the
defendants' request for an appeal.

some prisoners who have completed jail terms are simply not
released, amnesty said, citing the case of three men whose 15-year
sentences had expired in 1985 but who are still in prison.

amnesty is pushing the syrian government to set up an independent
body to investigate allegations of torture and deaths while in
custody.

freed political detainees have described ill-treatment at the
hands of their jailers such as dullab, in which the prisoner is
hung from a suspended tyre and beaten with sticks.

''torture usually takes place during prolonged periods of
incommunicado detention and is used both to extract information
from political suspects and as a form of punishment,'' amnesty
says.

amnesty has also demanded that syria ''immediately and
unconditionally'' free all prisoners of conscience and release
other political detainees not scheduled for trial.

''the government should make it clear to security forces that
torture is strictly prohibited and that its perpetrators will be
brought to justice,'' amnesty said. (end/ips/hr/cg/jmd/92)

Newsgroups: soc.rights.human,misc.legal,alt.activism