Mohanad Al-Hasani’s Detention:
An Attempt to Hush Syrian Regime Victims

Press Release

The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) expresses its profound concern as regards the Syrian authorities’ detention of the eminent human rights defender and lawyer, Mohanad Al-Hasani, chairman of the Syrian organization for Human Rights – Sawasiah – a leading and most professional Syrian human rights organization, on 28th July. According to CIHRS information, Al-Hasani had been summoned several times to the Public Intelligence two days before his detention.  The investigations held with him were about his human rights activities at large since the inception of Sawsiah five years ago.

CIHRS is of the view that measures taken against Al-Hasani are closely related to his eminent role in defending the victims of human rights violations in Syria, especially the role he played in monitoring the farcical trial of political activists in extra-ordinary state security courts of law, on which the executive power, especially the security and intelligence bodies,  holds sway.

According to CIHRS information, it seems evident that the Syrian security bodies decided earlier to punish Al-Hasani for his human rights activity and his professional life as a lawyer. It is worth noting, in this respect, that on 19th July Al-Hasani was subject to physical abuse near the state security court after attending a hearing. A court employee attacked him, grabbed the documents in which Al-Hasani took notes on the hearing, and tore other documents into pieces. It is also indicative that the aggressive employee admitted the act before the chief judge, when Al-Hasani complained. He, actually, said that he had accomplished "his mission" upon the order of the head of public prosecution in the state security court – a fact that was not denied by the head of prosecution. Rather than holding the head of prosecution accountable and apologizing to Al-Hasani for the assault and the insult to his integrity and that for the law profession, the head of prosecution accused Al-Hasani of unveiling confidential information through what he publishes about trials in Syria, although the law of state security itself acknowledges public trials.

While stressing utter condemnation of Al-Hasani’s detention, CIHRS deems the arrest a threatening message to all human rights defenders who boldly work on monitoring the daily violations of the Syrian authorities against citizens. It is also an attempt to hush the victims’ voices that are heard by the world via Syrian human rights organizations, despite the non-stop Syrian oppression and the legislative arsenal that aims at terrorizing and undermining all government critics and opponents and all those seeking freedom and respect of human rights.

CIHRS calls upon the Syrian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Mohanad Al-Hasani, stop all pressures exerted on human rights defenders, and set free all opinion prisoners, especially the leaders of the Damascus declaration.

CIHRS stresses that the Syrian authorities’ response to such appeals requires the concerted efforts of the international human rights movement and the UN agencies and institutions so that Syria may review all the legal frameworks against human rights and public freedoms, in order to put an end to the practices that add shame to the human rights record in that miserable country.