Abburrahman Koki

Abdurrahman Koki, a Syrian national aged 40, was summoned by Syrian intelligence services in Damascus on 22 October 2009 and was immediately arrested. He had only just returned from Qatar where he appeared on Faisal Qassem's show, "The Opposite Direction", on Al-Jazeera TV channel, alongside Egyptian activist Hafez Abu Saada. There is no doubt that his arrest and incommunicado detention is as a direct consequence of having openly expressed his religious views while on the talk show. To date his family has not been informed of the reasons for his arrest, nor where he is detained.

Yussef Abullah Al-Dheeb

Mr Al-Dheeb, a 44 year old Syrian national, is a resident of Deir Al-Zour and is a well respect community leader and mediator. He is also a member of the Islamic Democratic Current, which is part of the "National Council of the Damascus Declaration". He was arbitrarily arrested on 15 November 2009 by armed men in civilian clothing, who sources believe are members of the Syrian Intelligence services. His family does not know his whereabouts and remain without news regarding his current situation. Present concerns are that he risks torture during this incommunicado detention that will only aggravate his chronic kidney failure and high blood pressure which require medical supervision and medication.

Various international NGOs have taken up Mr Al-Dheeb cause, further putting pressure on the Syrian government to improve their human rights record. Under Syria's state of emergency, established in 1963, opposition groups and human rights organizations are strictly prohibited unless authorised by the Ba'ath party. Arresting activist, banning websites, gagging bloggers and imposing travel bans are only a few of the methods used to keep government opponents at bay.

Many individuals have been arbitrarily detained as a consequence of signing the Damascus Declaration, namely its Chairwoman Fida Al-Hurani, its Secretary General Riad Seif (both now sentenced for "spreading false information that weakens the morale of the nation") and Haitham Al-Maleh, whose case Alkarama submitted to the UN in October 2009.

The Damascus Declaration states that it "adopts pluralism, the peaceful transfer of power, and the rule of law in a State all of whose citizens enjoy the same rights and have the same duties, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, sect, or clan, and prevents the return of tyranny in new forms. "

Alkarama will continue to follow the cases of Mr Al-Dheeb and Mr Koki and keep the UN special procedures informed of any updates.