On 8 October 2010 Alkarama sent their cases to the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, requesting their intervention with the Syrian authorities, in an effort to instigate fair trials for detainees, in accordance with Syrian domestic law and the international agreements which Syria has signed.
The three detainees are leading members of the Yekiti Party, which works in defense of the minority Kurdish community. They are:
- Ahmad Ahmad Mustafa, 48, resides in Qamishli. Apart from his political work, he is a registered lawyer with Alhasaka Lawyers' Union.
- Hasan Ibrahim Salih, 62, resides in Qamishli.
- Maaruf Ahmad Mulla Ahmad, 56, resides in Qamishli.
 From left to right: Maaruf Ahmad Mulla, Muhammed Mustafa, Hasan Ibrahim Salih |
Ahmad Mostafa, Hasan Salih, and Maaruf Mulla Ahmad were arrested on 26 December 2009 after reporting to the State Security office in Qamishli, following a summons by the State Security General Director. They were then taken to the State Security branch at Alhasaka. They are believed to have been arrested for participating in the general meeting convened by their party on 3 December 2009 to discuss the situation of the Kurdish community.
The three of them were detained at Alhasaka for eight days, in solitary confinement, and then moved on 2 January 2010 to the State Security branch in Damascus (Alfayhaa section), where they are still being held to this day.
The detained victims remained in isolation from the external world for more than five months, during which they were denied any contact with the external world, and in particular with their families. They were brought before the High Court for State Security in Damascus for the first time on 6 June 2010. On that date their family got their first chance to see them since their arrest.
Their families learned that they had charged with "separatist efforts" under Article 267 of the Syrian Penal Code. The court last heard them on 20 July 2010, and have since been awaiting trial.
It is also worth mentioning that neither these victims' families nor their lawyers have been allowed to visit them at the place of their detention, justifying their fears that they may be undergoing torture or mistreatment due to their solitary confinement.
The Committee against Torture had the opportunity to review Syria's first report, and said in its concluding observations (CAT/C/SYR/CO/1), on 12 May 2010, that there were still grounds for deep concern regarding the number of serious violations, including within detention centres controlled by security agencies, where political prisoners are frequently subjected to torture.