The Observatory was informed that Mr. Shahabi was granted a presidential amnesty on the occasion of Eid celebrations, and subsequently released on January 9, 2007.
The Observatory recalls that Mr. Shahabi was arrested on August 10, 2006, while summoned to the State Security Services in Damascus. Although his relatives tried to visit him on numerous occasions at the State Security Services office, they were denied the right to see him, under the pretext that he would still be “interrogated”, and were not informed of his whereabouts (See Observatory Urgent Appeals SYR 005/0806/OBS 099, 099.1, 099.2 and 099.3).
On October 16, 2006, Mr. Ali Shahabi’s relatives were informed that he had been transferred from an unknown place to the Adra prison, where he was detained incommunicado. A few weeks later, Mr. Shahabi was informed that he could be prosecuted for having signed the Beirut-Damascus Declaration in May 2006, which called for the normalisation of relations between Lebanon and Syria, and for having “created an illegal party”. This last accusation referred to Mr. Shahabi’s attempts to create, in 2005, a movement called “Syria for all” and a website publishing articles on democracy and fundamental freedoms, which was had been blocked by the authorities.
The Observatory had submitted his case to several United Nations bodies, in particular Mrs. Hina Jilani, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, the UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearance, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression and the Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
However, the Observatory remains concerned about the detention of many other defenders, including Mr. Anouar Bunni, founder member of the Syrian Human Rights Association (ASDH) and member of the Committee for the Defence of Prisoners of Conscience, and Mr. Michel Kilo, President of the Organisation for the Defence of Freedom of Speech and Press. Both are charged with “weakening the national ethic” and “incitement to opposition struggle”, in reprisals of their human rights activities. For this reason, the Observatory considers their detention as arbitrary (See Urgent Appeals SYR 003/0506/OBS 060, 060.1 et, 060.2, joint press release FIDH/OMCT dated May 18, 2006, and Observatory press release July 28, 2006).
The Observatory urges the Syrian authorities to release all human rights defenders arbitrarily detained in Syria, and to conform with its commitments regarding regional and international human rights instruments.
For further information, please contact :
FIDH : Gael Grilhot: +00 33 1 43 55 25 18
OMCT : Delphine Reculeau : + 00 41 22 809 49 39