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On 28 October 2010 Alkarama sent Tuhama Ma'ruf's case to the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and the protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, requesting his intervention with the Syrian authorities, in an effort to release Mrs Ma'ruf, in accordance with Syrian domestic law and the international agreements signed by Syria.
Mrs Ma'ruf was arrested, for the first time, on 30 January 1992 for belonging to the Communist Labor Party of Syria, a party banned since the early 1980s. In this time, she was a medical student around the age of 26. She was imprisoned for a year, but then released, in March 1993, pending her trial. She was then sentenced by the Supreme State Security Court, on 5 January 1995 (Case No. 49), to six years in prison with hard labour for "membership to a secret organization which aims to change the economic and social status of the state" (Article 306 of the Syrian Penal Law).
However, this sentence was not implemented and Mrs Ma'ruf remained free. Fifteen years later, Mrs Ma'ruf was arrested again on 6 February 2010 by agents from criminal security forces in Aleppo - in order to serve the 6 year sentence handed down on 5 January 1995.
Three days later, on 9 February 2010, she was presented before the Attorney General of the State Security Court who rejected the request made by Mrs Ma'ruf's lawyer to release her, due to the prescription of her sentence. Article 162 of the Syrian Penal Law stipulates that "the period of prescription of the execution of the criminal sentence is twice the length of the sentence issued by the court". This means Mrs Ma'ruf's 6 year sentence could not be enforced or executed 12 or more years after it being issued. However she was arrested 15 years after the 1992 sentence, therefore in violation of the above mentioned article.
Mrs Ma'ruf was then taken to a branch of the Political Security services in Damascus for the execution of her judgment. She was immediately transferred to Adra prison, where she is detained in a special section for women as part of the political prisoners wing.
Ma'ruf's psychological health is suffering due to the overcrowding of a large number of women prisoners, most of whom are charged with non-politically affiliated crimes.
It is clear that Mrs Ma'ruf's arrest is a direct consequence of her membership to a political party. The violation of her right to freedom of expression and association is in line with the observed patterns of widespread human rights abuses in Syria, particularly the government's stringent crack-down on the freedom of expression and association. Furthermore, these acts are in clear violation of Articles 9 and 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Alkarama calls for the Syrian authorities to immediately release Mrs Tuhama Mahmoud Ma'ruf and calls also for the release of all other detainees held for having exercised her right to the freedom of expression and association.