{"id":65930,"date":"2015-04-28T11:46:36","date_gmt":"2015-04-28T10:46:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/?p=65930"},"modified":"2017-03-23T15:32:29","modified_gmt":"2017-03-23T15:32:29","slug":"syria-human-rights-organizations-renew-call-for-release-of-duma-four","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/newsite02may\/?p=65930","title":{"rendered":"Syria: Human rights organizations renew call for release of “Duma Four”"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Razan

Razan Zaitouneh, above, Samira Khalil, Nazem Hamadi and Wa\u2019el Hamada were abducted on 9 December 2013<\/p><\/div>\n

To mark the 38th birthday (on April 29) of missing human rights defender and lawyer Razan Zaitouneh, head of the Violations Documentation Centre in Syria (VDC), winner of the 2011 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought and the 2011 Anna Politkovskaya Award of RAW in WAR (Reach All Women In War), the undersigned human rights organizations today reiterate their call for her immediate release, as well as that of her missing colleagues Samira Khalil, Nazem Hamadi and Wa\u2019el Hamada.<\/p>\n

On December 9, 2013, the four human rights defenders, collectively known as the \u201cDuma Four\u201d, were abducted during a raid by a group of armed men on the offices of the VDC in Duma, near Damascus. There has been no news of their whereabouts or health since.<\/p>\n

The VDC is active in monitoring and reporting on human rights violations in Syria and the undersigned organizations believe that the abduction of the four activists was a direct result of their peaceful human rights work. Their ongoing detention forms part of a wider pattern of threats and harassment by both government forces and non-state actors seeking to prevent human rights defenders exposing abuses.<\/p>\n

In the months prior to her abduction Razan Zaitouneh wrote about threats she had been receiving and informed human rights activists outside Syria that they originated from local armed groups in Duma. The most powerful armed group operating in Duma at the time of the abductions is the Army of Islam headed by Zahran Alloush. In April 2014, Razan Zaitouneh\u2019s family issued a statement saying they held Zahran Alloush responsible for her and her colleagues\u2019 wellbeing given the large presence his group maintained in the area.<\/p>\n

The undersigned organizations, as well as other activists, have been calling for the release of the \u201cDuma Four\u201d since their abductions. Today they again urge the Army of Islam and other armed groups operating in the area to take immediate steps to release the abducted VDC staff, or investigate their abduction and work for their release. They further urge governments that support these groups, as well as religious leaders and others who may have influence over them, to press for such action, in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2139, which \u201cstrongly condemns\u201d the abduction of civilians and demands and immediate end to this practice.<\/p>\n

Razan Zaitouneh has been one of the key lawyers defending political prisoners in Syria since 2001. She has played a key role in efforts to defend the universality of human rights and support independent groups and activists in Syria. Along with a number of other activists, she established the VDC and co-founded the Local Coordination Committees (LCCs), which co-ordinate the work of local committees in various cities and towns across Syria. She also established the Local Development and Small Projects Support Office, which assists non-governmental organizations in besieged Eastern Ghouta.<\/p>\n

Samira Khalil has been a long-time political activist in Syria and had been detained on several occasions by the Syrian authorities as a result of her peaceful activism. Before her abduction, she was working to help women in Duma support themselves by initiating small income-generating projects. Wa\u2019el Hamada, an active member of the VDC and co-founder of the LCC network had also been detained by the Syrian authorities. Before his abduction he was working, together with Nazim Hamadi, to provide humanitarian assistance to the residents of besieged Eastern Ghouta.<\/p>\n

Signatories:<\/p>\n

Alkarama Foundation
\nAmman Center for Human Rights Studies
\nAmnesty International
\nArab Foundation for Development and Citizenship
\nArab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI)
\nArab Organization for Human Rights in Syria
\nBadael Foundation
\nBahrain Centre for Human Right
\nDefending prisoners of conscience in Syria Organization
\nCairo Center for Development (CCD)
\nCanadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE)
\nCentre for Democracy and Civil Rights in Syria
\nCommittees for the Defending Democratic Freedoms and Human Rights in Syria
\nEl-Nadeem Center for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence
\nEnmaa Center for Democracy and Human Rights
\nFraternity Center for Democracy and civil society
\nFront Line Defenders (FLDs)
\nFreedom House
\nGulf Center for Human Rights
\nHuman Rights Fist Society , Saudi Arabia
\nHuman Rights Organization in Syria – MAF
\nHuman Rights watch (HRW)
\nHumanist Institute for Co-operation with Developing Countries (HIVOS)
\nHand in Hand Organization , Syria
\nMonitor for Human Rights in Saudi Arabia
\nIndex on Censorship
\nInternational Media Support (IMS)
\nInternational Centre for Supporting Rights and Freedoms
\nInternational Civil Society Action Network (ICAN)
\nInternational Service For Human Rights (ISHR)
\nThe Tunisian Initiative for Freedom of Expression
\nInstitute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR)
\nInternational Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) under the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
\nIraqi Women Network
\nIraqi Journalists Rights Defense Association(IJRDA)
\nIraqi Network for social Media
\nKurdish Committee for Human Rights in Syria (observer)
\nKurdish Organization for Human Rights in Syria (DAD)
\nKvinna till Kvinna Foundation
\nLawyers for Lawyers
\nLulua Center for Human Rights
\nMadad NGOs
\nMaharat Foundation
\nMENA Media Monitoring group
\nMetro Centre to Defend Journalists in Iraqi Kurdistan
\nNational Organization for Human Rights in Syria
\nNazra for Feminist Studies
\nNo Peace Without Justice (NPWJ)
\nOne World Foundation (OWF)
\nOmani Observatory for Human Rights
\nWorld Organization Against Torture (OMCT) under the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
\nPax for Peace \u2013 Netherland
\nPen International
\nReach All Women in War (RAW)
\nReporters Without Boarders (RSF)
\nSentiel Human Rights Defenders
\nSyrian American Council (SAC)
\nSyrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM)
\nSyrian Center for Legal Researches & Studies
\nSyrian Journalists Association
\nSyrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR)
\nSyrian League for Citizenship
\nViolations Documentation Center in Syria (VDC)
\nYemeni organization for defending human rights and democratic freedom<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To mark the 38th birthday (on April 29) of missing human rights defender and lawyer Razan Zaitouneh, head of the Violations Documentation Centre in Syria (VDC), winner of the 2011 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought and the 2011 Anna Politkovskaya Award of RAW in WAR (Reach All Women In War), the undersigned human rights […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":65933,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[366,7,6903],"tags":[7064,7062,7063,7065],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/newsite02may\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65930"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/newsite02may\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/newsite02may\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/newsite02may\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/newsite02may\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=65930"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/newsite02may\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65930\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86959,"href":"https:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/newsite02may\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65930\/revisions\/86959"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/newsite02may\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/65933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/newsite02may\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=65930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/newsite02may\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=65930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/newsite02may\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=65930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}