"We are extremely happy to hear that Hussein and Hani were freed and reunited with their family," says Inès Osman, Legal Officer for the Mashreq at Alkarama. "We will not stop advocating for the release of Mazen who continues to be unjustly detained, just like hundreds of others who are being prosecuted under so-called 'terrorism charges' only aimed at silencing them."

On 16 February 2012, the Syrian Air Force Intelligence, affiliated to the Ministry of Defence, raided the SCM – a non-governmental organisation disseminating information on the human rights situation in Syria including on media freedom and freedom of expression – and arrested its staff. While most of them were released, SCM's Director Mazen Darwish and his two colleagues, Hani Al Zitani and Hussein Gharir, were kept in detention. A year later, they were charged with "publicising terrorist acts" by the Anti-Terrorism Court. Although a presidential amnesty was issued on 9 June 2014 pardoning all individuals charged with "promoting terrorist acts," Darwish, Gharir and Al Zitani were excluded from the pardon.

Unexpectedly, on 17 and 18 July 2015, Hussein Gharir and Hani Al Zitani were released from Hama prison after the administration received a list of the individuals who were granted the amnesty. Although Mazen Darwish's name was included on the list, the authorities decided to carry out a "security check" and transferred him to State Security Branch No. 285, a Damascus-based subsidiary of State Security Department affiliated to the Ministry of Interior. Today, it is still unclear why Mazen was transferred and whether legal proceedings against Hussein and Hani were dropped as they were released.

Alkarama therefore calls upon the Syrian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Mazen Darwish as well as to drop all charges held against him, Hussein and Hani. The Government must act upon the repeated calls for the three activists' freedom from the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria on 11 March 2013, the UN General Assembly on 15 May 2013, the UN Special Procedures on 15 November 2013, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on 24 August 2014, dozens of human rights organisations on 17 May 2013, 19 November 2013 and again on 16 February 2015, and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein on 19 February 2015.

For more information or an interview, please contact the media team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (Dir: +41 22 734 1008)