Mr Koki was detained incommunicado for over a month, and only in late November 2009 transferred to Adra Central Prison in Damascus. He was presented before the First Damascus Criminal Court in early 2010 and risks being given a heavy sentence at his next and final hearing on 27 January 2010.

The Special Rapporteur on torture and the Special Rapporteur on the freedom of expression were informed of this case on 2 December 2009.

Context

On 20 October 2009, Mr Koki participated in a program named "The Opposite Direction" on the widely watched television channel Al Jazeera. The theme of this talk show was the Niqab (a form of Islamic veil) and the recent decision by the Dean of Al Azhar university, Sheikh Mohammed Tantawi, to ban the Niqab in his university. Mr Koki, during his intervention on the program, discussed his views on these subjects and other religious and societal issues. Excerpts of this television program are available here.

Upon his return from Qatar, on 22 October 2009, he was summoned to the offices of the Political Security branch of the Syrian intelligence services in Damascus and was immediately arrested. He was detained incommunicado from the 22 October 2009 until late November without access to a lawyer, to his family nor any contact with the outside world. Mr Koki's family and most observers agree that his arrest was a direct consequence of his participation in the talk show on Al Jazeera and for the free expression of his religious views on this channel.