According to the CDF and the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network
(EMHRN), in the late afternoon of February 11th, Mr. Akhtam Naisse,
was summoned to report to the so-called "al-Mintaqa" offices of the
military secret service in Damascus. Mr. Naisse was detained and
interrogated by two high ranking military officers until after
midnight. He was released on February 12th in the early afternoon.
The military secret services accused Mr. Naisse and CDF of having
illegal contacts and being "the workers of Europe, USA and Israel".
They based their accusations on conversations tapped from Mr.
Naisse’s telephone, which is allegedly under surveillance by the
Syrian authorities. The arrest followed an on-line petition "To end
the state of emergency in Syria" launched by the CDF at the end of
January 2004. The military secret service officers said that the
number of signatories, more than 3500, was a sign that CDF had
illegal international contacts.
During the detention, the military officers verbally harassed Mr.
Naisse, who is due to travel abroad in a couple of days. The officers
threatened not to allow him to leave Syria, or if he does, that he
might not be allowed to return. They also suggested that other things
or accidents " might happen".
The Observatory recalls that the CDF members, including Akhtam
Naisse, are regularly called in by the police to be questioned about
their activities and are systematically harassed (police
surveillance, telephone-tapping, confiscation of mail and pressure on
their families). In addition, the CDF are still not legally
recognized.
The Observatory calls on the Syrian authorities to end acts of
harassment against Akhtam Naisse, to guarantee, in all circumstances,
his freedom of movement, and to
stop any kind of repression against Syrian human rights defenders. In
particular, the Observatory urges the Syrian authorities to conform
with Article 1 of the Declaration on
Human Rights Defenders, which provides that "[e]veryone 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" and Article 8.2, which ensure the right "to
submit to governmental bodies and agencies and organizations
concerned with public affairs criticism and proposals for improving
their functioning and to draw attention to any aspect of their work
that may hinder or impede the promotion, protection and realization
of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Observatory finally
calls Syrian authorities to conform with the provisions of the
Universal Declaration on Human Rights as well as with international
human rights instruments ratified by Syria.