SOURCE: Arabic News
Syrian authorities have amplified theircrackdown against civil society activists, arbitrarily restricting severalof them from leaving the country, Human Rights Watch said today.
Those most recently denied the right to leave Syria include: RadwanZiadeh, director of the Damascus Centre for Human Rights Studies; SuheirAtassi, head of the Jamal al-Atassi Forum for Democratic Dialogue, whichSyrian authorities shut down last year; Walid al-Bunni, a physician whohelped found the Committees for the Revival of Civil Society; and Samaral-Labwani, the wife of jailed human rights activist Kamal al-Labwani.
"These travel bans are a crude attempt to prevent Syrian civil societyactivists from interacting with the outside world," said Joe Stork, deputydirector of the Middle East and North Africa division at Human Rights Watch."Shy of putting these activists in jail, the Syrian government is insteadputting them under a type of national house arrest."
Ziadeh was traveling from Damascus to Amman on June 26 when Syrian securityforces at the border prevented him from leaving the country. They did notexplain the reason for the travel ban but indicated that the GeneralIntelligence Agency (al-Mukhabarat al-`Ama) had issued the order and thatZiadeh had to report to them. He was on his way to participate in aninternational conference on human rights and criminal justice organized bythe Amman Centre for Human Rights Studies.
Following the ban imposed on Ziadeh, three other civil society activistslearned that the government also had issued orders banning them fromtraveling. Suheir Atassi was scheduled to leave Syria on July 2 for a 10-dayvisit to France after receiving a scholarship from the French government forher activities as a youth leader. The immigration authorities informed herthat the Palestine Branch of Military Intelligence had issued the orderrestricting her travel. The Palestine Branch houses a prison that thegovernment uses to jail a number of political activists.
The government had released Walid al-Bunni from jail in January 2006 afterhe served five years for his involvement in the "Damascus Spring" movementin 2001. The Damascus Spring was a period of intense political and socialdebate in Syria, which started after the death of President Hafez al-Asad inJune 2000 and continued until the government suppressed these activities inthe fall of 2001. For the first time since 1989, al-Bunni was able to obtaina passport, and was hoping to travel to Saudi Arabia to visit relatives andto Greece to attend a conference. He learned that it was the GeneralIntelligence Agency (al-Mukhabarat al-`Ama) that had issued the orderbanning him from travel.
Immigration authorities informed Samar Labwani at the Lebanese border thatthe General Intelligence Agency (al-Mukhabarat al-`Ama) had issued ordersbanning her from traveling. They did not inform her of the reasons for theban. Syrian security agents have detained her husband, the activistKamal al-Labwani, since November 8, 2005. Labwani has been charged,amongst other things, with contacting a foreign state with the intent ofinitiating aggression against Syria. His trial resumes on July 16.
Under international law, everyone is free to leave his or her country. TheInternational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Syria is astate party, bars states from restricting someone's right to leave thecountry, except when the given restrictions are prescribed by law and are"necessary to protect national security, public order, public health ormorals or the rights and freedoms of others," and are consistent with theother rights recognized in that treaty. Syrian security agents have issuedtravel bans in Syria without any explanation and without any judicial basis.
