Syria: Incommunicado detention/fear of torture: Mustafa Omar Abdi Malik (m)

PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 24/087/2005 21 September 2005

SYRIA Mustafa Omar Abdi Malik (m), aged 19, medical student, Somali national

Student Mustafa Omar Abdi Malik was reportedly arrested at his home in Harasta Taht, a suburb of the capital, Damascus, on 6 September. Around 10 officers from the Syrian Political Security Branch arrested him and confiscated his computer. He has not been heard from since, and he is in grave danger of torture and other ill-treatment.

Mustafa Omar Abdi Malik’s family have apparently made regular visits to the local Political Security Branch looking for him. They have been told that he will not be released until his interrogation is completed, but have been given no information about his whereabouts. The security forces have, however, indicated that he was arrested because of his association with "someone he knows". Mustafa Omar Abdi Malik’s family are not aware of his having any political connections or affiliations.

The Malik family moved to Syria from Somalia some four years ago. Mustafa Omar Abdi Malik is a medical student at the University of Damascus.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Torture is widespread in Syrian detention and investigation centres, particularly during pre-trial detention, and during periods of incommunicado detention. Over the years, Amnesty International has documented 38 types of torture and ill-treatment used against detainees in Syria. "Confessions" extracted under duress are systematically used as "evidence" in Syrian courts, and the defendants’ claims of torture are almost never investigated. In 2004 at least nine people died reportedly as a result of torture and ill-treatment while in custody.

URGENT ACTION

Syria:Further information on incommunicado detention/fear of torture: Mustafa Omar Abdi Malik (m) SYRIA Mustafa Omar Abdi Malik (m), aged 19, medical student, Somali national

Mustafa Omar Abdi Malik’s mother was reportedly allowed to visit him on 28 September, but no one has been allowed to see him since, including his lawyer.

Apart from this one visit he has been held incommunicado since 6 September. He is held at the Political Security Branch in al-Fayha’a in the capital, Damascus.

Three prison officials were present throughout the meeting and she was able to give her son some money and clothing. The family had apparently arranged the meeting with an official from the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the Somali embassy in Damascus. The official reportedly told Mustafa Omar Abdi Malik’s mother that her son had done nothing wrong but was being kept in custody because of "someone he knows," apparently from the school he attended before he went to university. Although she was told that he would be released "soon" he remains detained without charge.

Mustafa Omar Abdi Malik was arrested at his home in the Damascus suburb of Harasta Taht, on 6 September. His family are not aware of his having any political connections or affiliations.

Aktham Naisse, President of the Committees for the Defence of Democratic Liberties and Human Rights in Syria will receive the prestigious 2005 Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders (MEA) for his work for over 30 years in the democratic movement in Syria. The award will be presented by Louise Arbour, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, during a ceremony on 12 October 2005 at the Batiment des Forces Motrices in Geneva, within the framework of the International North South Media Festival.

Aktham Naisse is one of the founding members of the Committees for the Defence of Democratic Liberties and Human Rights (CDF), created in 1989, and the publication Sawt al-Dimokratiyyah (the Voice of Democracy). Aktham Naisse has written articles and courageously spoken out in national, regional and international forums. He was arrested six times for publicly demanding respect for human rights.

In recent years Aktham Naisse was charged with “opposing the objectives of the revolution” and “disseminating false information aiming at weakening the State”, risking a prison sentence of 15 years. Thanks to international pressure, he was finally acquitted on Sunday 26 June 2005 by the Supreme State Security Court. A few days before his trial Aktham Naisse wrote to the Martin Ennals Foundation: “I feel more motivated and happy because there are people interested in our problem, people that care for us and support us in our fight for human liberty. I have a great emotion because I know now that we are not struggling alone against human rights violation.”

Background

A unique collaboration among eleven of the world's leading non-governmental human rights organizations makes the MEA the main award of the human rights movement. The jury is composed of the following: Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights First, International Federation for Human Rights, World Organization Against Torture, International Commission of Jurists, German Diakonie, International Service for Human Rights, International Alert, HURIDOCS and DCI.

The MEA, created in 1993, is granted annually to an individual or an organization who has displayed exceptional courage in combating human rights violations. The previous laureates are: Lida Yusupova, Russia (2004); Alirio Uribe Muñoz, Colombia (2003); Jacqueline Moudeina, Chad (2002); Peace Brigades International (2001); Immaculée Birhaheka, DR Congo (2000); Natasa Kandic, Yugoslavia (1999); Eyad El Sarraj, Occupied Palestinian Territories (1998); Samuel Ruiz García, Mexico (1997); Clement Nwankwo, Nigeria (1996); Asma Jahangir, Pakistan (1995); Harry Wu, China (1994).

Martin Ennals (1927-1991) was an influential figure in the modern human rights movement. He was the first Secretary-General of Amnesty International and the driving force behind many other organisations. His deep desire was to see more cooperation and solidarity among NGOs: the MEA is evidence that this is possible.