18 July 2013

Syria: Muhammad Anbari Disappeared Since 23 March 2013

Anbari
Muhammad Anbari was arrested by Air Force Intelligence agents in Al Oqaiba District, Damascus, on 22 March 2012. The following day, security forces brought him to his home and searched the whole house. This was the last time that Mr Anbari's family saw him. Given his current disappearance, Alkarama fears for his life, as he is at high risk of severe torture, in view of the reports of torture that continue find their way out of the Syrian detention centres. We call on the Syrian authorities to urgently undertake all necessary steps to place Mr Anbari under the protection of the law or to release him immediately.

Before his arrest on 22 March, 31-year-old Muhammad Maher Anbari worked as a salesperson in a shop. That day, at 10 p.m., agents of the Air Force Intelligence arrested him at a shop on Baghdad Street in Al Oqaiba District of Damascus without showing an arrest warrant or informing him of the reason of his arrest. The next day, Mr Anbari was taken back to his home and the security forces turned the whole house upside down, confiscating valuable belongings and intimidating his relatives. Mr Anbari reportedly bore marks on his face and seemed to be in a very bad physical condition, probably caused by torture and ill-treatment. Mr Anbari was then taken away to an unknown destination.

Since then, no official information on Mr Anbari's situation has surfaced. However, according to sources, he may have been taken to a building known as Aviation Command under the control of the Air Force Intelligence, located in Abu Rummaneh District, Damascus, where he was detained for a week. He was then reported to be taken to a detention centre belonging to the Air Force Intelligence at Al Mazza Military Airport. However, given that the authorities refuse to provide information about Mr Anbari's current situation, his fate and whereabouts remain unknown.

As long as Mr Anbari remains disappeared, Alkarama fears for his live as well as his physical and mental integrity, given reports on severe torture practiced in Syria, in some cases leading to the death of detainees. In light of these concerns, Alkarama submitted his case to the UN Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances, soliciting its intervention with the Syrian authorities to ensure that Mr Anbari's fate and whereabouts are clarified and that he be protected from any further potential abuse.

Mauritania - HR Instruments

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)

ICCPR: Accessed on 17.11.2004
Optional Protocol: No

State report: Due on 01.11.2017 (2nd)
Last concluding observations: 20.11.2013

Convention against Torture (CAT)

CAT: Accessed on 17.11.2004
Optional Protocol: Yes
Art. 20 (Confidential inquiry): No
Art. 22 (Individual communications): No

State report: Due on 31.05.2017 (2nd)
Last concluding observations: 18.06.2013

International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance (CED)

CED: Ratified on 03.10.2012
Art. 33 (Inquiry procedure): Yes

State report: Overdue since 03.11.2014
Last concluding observations: N/A

Universal Periodic Review (UPR)

Last review: 11.2010 (1st cycle)
Next review: 2015 (2nd cycle)

National Human Rights Institution (NHRI)

Commission Nationale des Droits de l'Homme (CNDH) – Status A

Last review: 05.2011
Next review: 2016