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On 28 October 2010, Alkarama submitted Azad Othman's case to the Special Rapporteur for the Protection and Promotion of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, requesting his intervention with the Syrian authorities to help Azad Othman. Alkarama also asks for Azad Othman to receive the appropriate compensation, including his salary and that those who physically abused him be brought to justice.
On 19 May 2009, the administrative order no. 145 / pg. 3 was issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation in Syria, decreeing the establishment of an investigative bureau consisting of six members to investigate and audit the financial affairs of Aleppo International Airport. It became clear to the investigative bureau that there was evidence of corruption and manipulation of records in order to misuse public funds. Another body was established by the Ministry of Transport on 22 June 2009, under decree no. 112, to further audit the airport's investments.
Othman was invited by the first investigative body, since he worked at Aleppo Airport, and thus knew a lot of information about corruption in the airport and possessed documents proving this. He presented his information during the investigation. In addition to this, Azad Othman had given information to many local websites describing the pressures and threats he suffered to stop him from speaking out about corruption.
The pressure on Azad Othman started as a result of the beginning of these investigations, including a decree issued by the Director of Aleppo International Airport, Basem Mansour, ordering the transfer of Azad Othman to the Fire and Rescue section. Also, on 5 July 2009, again by order of the airport Director, the Fire and Rescue section employees detained their Azad Othman in a room without giving him any reason for his detention, in the presence of Khalil Anjro, the head of this section, and the head of the loading bridge section, Moutie Haj Mahdi. He was detained there for three days, during working hours, and was extensively mistreated, including removing his clothes and leaving him unclothed for 24 hours.
On 9 July 2009, after the members of the second body had left the airport, Othman was released by Air Force secret services officers, Nazih Melhem and Wael Jaber. Since Azad Othman had already undergone a nervous breakdown, an ambulance was called, which took him directly to Shihan Al-Ammali Hospital.
What the airport authorities did to Azad Othman has left serious negative effects on his physical and mental health.
In despair over what had happened to him had suffered, on 3 August 2009, Azad presented a petition to the Aleppo Court of First Instance against the Director of Aleppo International Airport, the head of the Fire and Rescue section, and the head of the loading bridge section; saying that they were responsible for ill-treatment he has suffered.
Azad also sent many letters and petitions to meet with the Syrian President Bashar Al-Asad and other official representatives.
On 3 October 2009, one day before the first sitting of the complaint that he had raised against the three aforementioned people responsible, Azad was beaten up in front of his house by a number of individuals, who threatened to kill him if he did not withdraw the complaints against the Director of Aleppo International Airport. Despite this, Azad Othman did not withdraw the allegations of corruption, which had in any case been ignored by the authorities. On top of this, on 30 December 2009, Azad was fired from his position under decree no. 1392 of the Syrian Directorate General for Civil Aviation, in response to a request by the director of Aleppo International Airport, without any reason for his termination being given.
Azad considers that his right to freedom of expression has been breached, thanks to the violation of his physical security and the arbitrary detention as a direct result of his helping criticise corruption in Aleppo International Airport and giving information to the investigative body. These violations of human rights, sadly, are in line with the observed pattern of widespread human rights violations in Syria, and in particular the continuing harsh and heavy-handed measures taken by the government over the past year against the freedom of expression. On top of this, these are in blatant violation of articles 9 and 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.