14 September 2015

Syria: Married Worker Disappeared Since Arrest by Military Intelligence in Damascus in 2012

Al Zahera District, Damascus Al Zahera District, Damascus Google Maps

On 9 September 2015, Alkarama and Human Rights Guardians sent a communication to the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) regarding the disappearance of 48-year-old married worker, Mohammad Bashar Ali Deeb, following his arrest by the Military Intelligence in November 2012.

On 26 November 2012, stone installation worker Mohammad received a phone call from his friend, Abo Hassan, asking him to meet him at the Al Zahra Gardens in Damascus. Not knowing that Abo Hassan was then detained for allegedly funding the Free Syrian Army, Mohammad went to meet him. When he arrived at the Al Zahra Gardens, Mohammad was immediately arrested by members of Branch 235 of the Military Intelligence, also known as the "Palestine Branch", which is under the control of the Ministry of Defence and is known for mistreating detainees under its power.

Despite the steps taken by his relatives to locate him, including meeting with security officials, Mohammad's fate and whereabouts remain unknown to date.

Left with no other resort at the national level, Mohammad Bashar Ali Deeb's family contacted Human Rights Guardians and Alkarama in the hope that they could help shed light on their relative's fate and whereabouts. In view of the facts, the above-mentioned organisations seized the WGEID asking this UN special procedure on human rights to call upon the Syrian authorities to release Mohammad immediately or, at the very least, to put him under the protection of the law by disclosing his whereabouts and allowing his family to visit him without restriction.

In view of the systematic violations of human rights committed in Syria, Alkarama urges the State authorities to take action to:
• Put an end to the systematic and widespread practice of the crime of enforced disappearance;
• Combat impunity for perpetrators of human rights violations;
• Ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (CED).

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).

 

Syria - HR Instruments

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)

ICCPR: Accessed on 21.04.1969
Optional Protocol: No

State report: Overdue since 01.08.2009 (4th)
Last concluding observations: 09.08.2005

Convention against Torture (CAT)

CAT: Accessed on 19.08.2004
Optional Protocol: No
Art. 20 (Confidential inquiry): No
Art. 22 (Individual communications): No

State report: Overdue since 14.05.2014 (2nd)
Last concluding observations: 29.06.2012

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

No

Universal Periodic Review (UPR)

Last review: 10.2011 (1st cycle)
Next review: 2016 (2nd cycle)

National Human Rights Institution (NHRI)

No