04 March 2011

Syria: Adnan Zaitoun Forcibly Disappeared For Over 14 Years

adnanzeitoun
Adnan Zeitoun, a 59-year-old Syrian salesman and father of seven, was arrested on 2 February 1997 by plainclothes Syrian intelligence officer in Khan Arnea, in the Al-Kuneitera region, southwest Syria. To this day, his whereabouts remain unknown.

More than 14 years years on, Alkarama sent his case to the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances on 25 February 2011.

According to witnesses, Adnan was kidnap from his shop in Bassel Al-Assad street in Khan Arnea, and thrown into security vehicles.

Mr Zaitoun's family has not received any news of him since his arrest, despite the fact that they have tried every possible means to find him.

Mr Zaitoun's family has sent many letters to the President of Syria, the security services, and other officials, as well as posting requests on the internet, asking about Mr Zaitoun's fate, but these efforts have not yielded any result.

Alkarama asked Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances to intervene with the Syrian authorities to ensure the immediate release of Adnan Kassem Zaitoun or see that he is placed within the protection of the law as soon as possible. Alkarama requests that the Working Group ensures that the conditions of detention in prison are within the standards enacted by the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, adopted by the General Assembly resolution 43/173 in December 1988.

Alkarama recalls that Syria ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on 21 April 1969 and the Convention against Torture on 19 August 2004.

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