Urgent Call for the Release of Abdul Raouf Zeno

Urgent Call for the Release of Abdul Raouf Zeno

An informed source in the city of Hama has reported that the citizen Abdul-Raouf Zeno (65 years) was arrested in March 2007 by the Military Intelligence authorities without any given reason. Abdul-Raouf  Zeno had worked as a teacher in the United Arab Emirates,. He returned to his country in 1994 following a special    presidential amnesty, after having spent 14 years in exile.


Six months following his arrest, his health has deteriorated and he has been denied his right to take medicine or seeking medical treatment. He has also been forbidden from receiving visits or any information from his family and has been transferred from Hama to Damascus. It has also been mentioned that he has been transferred to a military court.


The Syrian Human Rights Committee (SHRC) calls upon the Syrian Authorities to reveal Mr. Abdul-Raouf Zeno”s place of detention and release him immediately. It also reminds the Syrian Authorities that in the case of him having committed an illegal act he should be tried at a normal court which runs fair trials and in which he is given the right to defend himself whilst he is free. However, it is clear that the detainment of Abdul-Raouf Zeno and many other Syrian citizens is a natural result of the oppression and despotism in Syria and an atmosphere in which citizens aren”t allowed to practise their basic public rights.


SHRC also turns towards local and international human rights organisations to call upon the Syrian regime to stop its practise of arbitrary arrests and release prisoners of conscience, including Mr. Abdul-Raouf Zeno; as well as to stop its practise of torture and degrading treatment in the detention centres and prisons of Syria.


 


Syrian Human Rights Committee