According to sources, orders for his beating came directly from Atef Najeeb, the General Director of the Political Security services and a family member of President Bashar Al-Assad.

Atef Najeeb is regularly accused of committing grave human rights violations, so much so that Syrian MP Youssef Abu Roumieh made a statement before Parliament on 27 March 2011 claiming that Najeeb had organised the armed assault on peaceful protestors in Deraa.

Maan Aloudat is currently detained without due process and being held incommunicado. His family is very concerned about his health and fears for his life, especially considering the staggering number of deaths by torture which have occurred in Syria in recent months.

Maan Aloudat with his mother and brother, Dr Haitham Manaa (left to right)

Since his arrest, his family has not been allowed to visit him, however on 5 April 2011 they learned that he had been transferred to Political Security Investigative Services headquarters in Damascus. Although the Syrian authorities have released many of those arrested during recent protests, Maan Aloudat remains in prison.

On 6 April 2011, Alkarama sent an urgent appeal to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture requesting its intervention with Syrian authorities to immediately release Maan Aloudat and stop all forms of torture, in order that he be provided him with appropriate medical assistance.

The wave of popular peaceful protests in Syria began on 15 March 2011, a calls for democratic change echoed across the country. The Syria authorities have since used excessive lethal force in an effort to quash demonstrations. However, as the death toll rises and arbitrary arrests continue, the underlying issues of government corruption and the lack of social and political reforms remain.