Syria: Rights activist and Lawyer Al-Maleh, disappeared after refusing summons

On 13 October 2009, Haitham al-Maleh was summoned by Syrian Political Security in Damascus for an inquiry and has since vanished. At 12:00, when friends tried to contact him, his phone was off. Mr. al-Maleh's disappearance is believed to be linked to a telephone interview he gave on 12 October 2009 to London-based television station Barada TV; during which he openly criticized Syrian authorities for their continued repression of freedom of expression.

Haitham al-Maleh, 78 and a Syrian national, is a prominent lawyer, human rights activist and former president of the Syrian Human Rights Society. For many years during the 1980s he was subject to detention because of his defense of human rights and generally liberties in Syria. He is the lawyer of Muhannad al-Hassani, a jailed HR activist.

In due course, Alkarama will present Haitham al-Maleh's current case to the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) and will continue to closely monitor his case.