This comes in the wake of increasing attention on his case by the United Nations human rights mechanisms, who have several times written to the Syrian government requesting that they explain Mr Ramadan's detention. In a response to the UN in August 2010, the Syrian government stated that Mr Ramadan was being held because he was a "key witness" in the Hariri Investigations and that he was detained for his own protection.
Upon Alkarama's request, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon confirmed that "the Office of the Prosecutor of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon does not expect to call Mr. Ramadan as a witness" and "that neither the United Nations International Independent Investigation Commission nor the Office of the Prosecutor of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon requested the detention of Mr. Ramadan."
Alkarama fears that the hearing on Monday 17 January and any subsequent trial will only serve to legitimise the past 5 years of arbitrary detention, fabricating a new pretext for his imprisonment. The procedures undertaken so far already fall far short of the international norms relating to a fair trial: Mr Ramadan has not been allowed proper legal assistance, and has been under pressure from the authorities not to challenge the charges laid against him during the hearing.
Alkarama has therefore today called on the United Nations special procedures to intervene with the Syrian government to ensure the immediate release of Mr Ramadan.