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On 30 March 2011, Alkarama submitted 301 cases of arbitrary detention (download the list of names in PDF), in the context of recent protests, to the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and the protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and also sent a copy of the cases to the UN Special Rapporteur on torture. Alkarama is requesting that the UN human rights special procedures intervene with the Syrian government.
Alkarama requests the Syria authorities to:
1. Remedy this situation by releasing those detained during protests;
2. Take appropriate actions against those reponsible for arbitrarily detaining peaceful demonstrators;
3. Ensure protesters right to freedom of expression and assembly is respected.
Since February 2011, peaceful protests have sparked across Syria, where demands are centered on the abolition of the Emergency Law and investigations into government corruption. Protests in Daraa and Latakia have claimed many lives across Syria.
Sources in Syria confirm that hundreds of people have also been arbitrarily arrested throughout Syria, because of their alleged participation in protests. Groups have also been targeted for having distributed leaflets and posting of information on Facebook. While demonstrators are seeking an improvement to Syria's human rights situation, the Syrian authorities have reacted with systematic and continued repressive measures.
A number of people have also been arrested for refusing to participate in pro-government demonstrations which took place on 29 March 2011.
Syria's human rights violations are consistent in Syria, where NGOs have observed a systematic pattern of widespread human rights, particularly, in recent years, the authorities' stringent crack-down on freedom of expression. These repressive measures are in clear violation of articles 19 and 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as well as Article 39 of the Syrian Constitution.
Alkarama condemns the violent actions taken by the Syrian authorities against peaceful protestors and continues to call upon the Syrian regime to respect peaceful protests. In the coming days and weeks, the relevant United Nations human rights bodies should take the necessary steps to prevent further violence and arbitrary arrests by the Syrian authorities against peaceful demonstrators.