Index on Censorship strongly condemns the murder of Ahmed Mohamed al-Mousa, a member of the news website and campaigning organisation Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS).
A non-partisan and independent media collective who report on atrocities perpetrated against the civilian population of Raqqa, the group collected an international press freedom award just last month for their work. Al-Mousa was assassinated by a group of unknown masked men on the same day as Index announced his organisation had been long-listed for Index on Censorship’s 2016 Freedom of Expression Awards.
“In their brave pursuit of the truth and their remarkable commitment to the people of Raqqa, RBSS are shining examples to us all. An idea cannot be lost to violence and intimidation and we stand side-by-side with RBSS and its courageous citizen journalists in their refusal to be silenced,” said Index CEO Jodie Ginsberg.
In October 2015, journalist Ibrahim Abd al-Qader was killed alongside Fares Hamadi in Urfa, southeastern Turkey with a video since surfacing that claims they were murdered to warn all “apostates [that] they will be slaughtered silently”.
Bassel Khartabil, a defender of freedom expression being held in conditions amounting to enforced disappearance may be facing a death sentence, 36 local and international organizations said today. His wife has received unconfirmed reports that a Military Field Court has sentenced him to death. His whereabouts should be disclosed immediately, and he should be released unconditionally, the groups said.
Military Intelligence detained Khartabil on March 15, 2012. He was held in incommunicado detention for eight months and was subjected to torture and other ill-treatment. He is facing Military Field Court proceedings for his peaceful activities in support of freedom of expression. A military judge interrogated Khartabil for a few minutes on December 9, 2012, but he had heard nothing further about his legal case, he told his family. In December 2012 he was moved to ‘Adra prison in Damascus, where he remained until October 3, 2015, when he was transferred to an undisclosed location and has not been heard of since.
Reports that his wife received from alleged sources inside Military Intelligence suggest that since his disappearance he has been tried by a Military Field Court in the Military Police headquarters in al-Qaboun, which sentenced him to death. Military Field Courts in Syria are exceptional courts with secret closed-door proceedings that do not meet international fair trial standards. Defendants have no legal representation, and the courts’ decisions are binding and not subject to appeal. People brought before such courts who were later released have said that proceedings are perfunctory, often lasting only minutes.
Khartabil is a software developer who has used his technical expertise to help advance freedom of speech and access to information via the internet. He has won many awards, including the 2013 Index on Censorship Digital Freedom Award for using technology to promote an open and free internet. His arrest and on-going detention are apparently a direct result of his peaceful and legitimate work, the groups said.
Demands for his release have been published by this group since his arrest and have been echoed by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in April 2015.
The authorities in Syria should:
1. Immediately disclose the whereabouts of Bassel Khartabil and grant him access to a lawyer and to his family;
2. Ensure that he is protected from torture and other ill-treatment;
3. Immediately and unconditionally release him;
4. Release all detainees in Syria held for exercising their legitimate rights to freedom of expression and association.
List of signatories:
1. Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture (ACAT)
2. Amnesty International (AI)
3. Arab Foundation for Development and Citizenship (AFDC)
4. Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI)
5. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)
6. Centre for Democracy and Civil Rights in Syria
7. Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
8. EuroMed Rights (EMHRN)
9. Fraternity Foundation for Human Rights
10. Front Line Defenders (FLD)
11. Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR)
12. HIVOS Humanist Institute for Co-operation with Developing Countries
13. Human Rights Watch (HRW)
14. Index on Censorship
15. Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR)
16. International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) under the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
17. Iraqi Association for the Defence of Journalists’ Rights (IJRDA)
18. Lawyer’s Rights Watch Canada (LRWC)
19. Maharat Foundation
20. Metro Centre to Defend Journalists in Iraqi Kurdistan
21. PAX
22. PEN International
23. Rafto
24. Reporters Without Borders(RSF)
25. Rethink Rebuild Society
26. Sisters Arab Forum for Human Rights (SAF)
27. SKeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom
28. Syrian American Council (SAC)
29. Syrian Association for Citizenship
30. Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM)
31. Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR)
32. Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
33. Syrian Women Association
34. The Day After Association (TDA)
35. Violations Documentation Center in Syria (VDC)
36. World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) under the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
UPDATE: Unconfirmed reports are circulating that Khartabil has been secretly sentenced to death by the Syrian government. We ask the Syrian authorities to reveal Khartabil’s whereabouts and release him immediately and unconditionally.
Syria’s authorities have yet to disclose the whereabouts of Bassel Khartabil, a software developer and defender of freedom of information, one month after his transfer to an undisclosed location, 22 organizations said today. Syrian authorities should immediately reveal his whereabouts and release him.
Military intelligence detained Khartabil on March 15, 2012. On October 3, 2015, Khartabil managed to inform his family that security officers had ordered him to pack but did not reveal his destination. His family has received no further information. They suspect that he may have been transferred to the military-run field court inside the military police base in Qaboun.
“Each day without news feels like an eternity to his family,” a spokesperson for the organizations said. “Syrian authorities should immediately reveal his whereabouts and reunite him with them.”
The Syrian authorities should immediately reveal Khartabil’s whereabouts and release him immediately and unconditionally, the organizations said. He is facing military field court proceedings for his peaceful activities in support of freedom of expression.
International law defines an enforced disappearance as an action by state authorities to deprive a person of their liberty and then refuse to provide information regarding the person’s fate or whereabouts.
Military field courts in Syria are exceptional courts that have secret closed-door proceedings and do not allow for the right to defense. Based on accounts by people who have appeared before these courts, the proceedings were perfunctory – lasting minutes – and did not meet minimum international standards for a fair trial. During a field court proceeding on December 9, 2012, a military judge interrogated Khartabil for a few minutes, but he had heard nothing about his legal case since then.
A Syrian of Palestinian parents, Khartabil is a 34-year-old computer engineer who worked to build a career in software and web development. Before his arrest, he used his technical expertise to help advance freedom of speech and access to information via the internet. Among other projects, he founded Creative Commons Syria, a nonprofit organization that enables people to share artistic and other work using free legal tools. Despite his imprisonment, Khartabil’s digital work is still advancing knowledge; last month, colleagues produced a new 3D model of the ancient Palmyra ruins using data collected by Khartabil before his detention. The UNESCO world heritage site is currently being destroyed by Islamic State, also known as ISIS, fighters, but the project was able to reconstruct their earlier appearance based on Khartabil’s measurements.
Syria’s authorities should immediately reveal the whereabouts of Bassel Khartabil, a software developer and defender of freedom of expression, 31 organizations said today. Syrian authorities transferred Khartabil, who has been detained since 2012, from Adra central prison to an undisclosed location on October 3, 2015.
Khartabil managed to inform his family on October 3 that security officers had ordered him to pack but did not reveal his destination. His family has not received any official information but believe based on unconfirmed information they received that he may have been transferred to the military-run field court inside the Military Police base in Qaboun.
“There are real fears that Khartabil has been transferred back to the torture-rife facilities run by Syria’s security forces,” a spokesperson for the groups said. “Khartabil should be on his way out of jail rather than being disappeared again.”
The organizations repeated their call for the immediate release of Khartabil who is facing field court proceedings for his peaceful activities in support of freedom of information.
International law defines a disappearance action by state authorities to deprive a person of their liberty and then refuse to provide information regarding the person’s fate or whereabouts.
Military Intelligence detained Khartabil on March 15, 2012 and he has remained in detention since. He was initially held incommunicado in the Military Intelligence Detention facility in Kafr Souseh for eight months and later in the military jail in Sednaya, where prison personnel tortured him for three weeks, he later told his family. Officials provided Khartabil’s family with no information about where or why he was in custody until December 24, 2012, when authorities moved him to Adra central prison, where Khartabil was eventually allowed visits from his family.
A Syrian of Palestinian parents, Khartabil is a 34-year old computer engineer who worked to build a career in software and web development. Before his arrest, he used his technical expertise to help advance freedom of speech and access to information via the Internet. Among other projects, he founded Creative Commons Syria, a nonprofit organization that enables people to share artistic and other work using free legal tools.
Military Field courts in Syria are exceptional courts that have secret closed-door proceedings and do not allow for the right to defense. According to accounts of released detainees who appeared before them, the proceedings of these courts were perfunctory, lasting minutes, and in absolute disregard of international standards of minimum fairness. During a field court proceeding on December 9, 2012, a military judge interrogated Khartabil, for a few minutes but he had heard nothing about his legal case since then.
“Bassel has always been a leading advocate for more transparency in Syria and the authorities should immediately reveal his whereabouts and reunite him with his family,” the spokesperson for the groups said.
List of signatories:
Action des Chrétiens pour l’Abolition de la Torture (ACAT)
Amnesty International
Arab Foundation for Development and Citizenship
Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI)
Association for Progressive Communications
Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
Euromed Rights (EMHRN)
FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
Front Line Defenders
Global Voices Advox
Gulf Center for Human Rights (GCHR)
Humanist Institute for Cooperation with Developing Countries (HIVOS)
Human Rights Watch (HRW)
Index on Censorship
Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR)
International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
Lawyers Rights Watch Canada (LRWC)
No Peace Without Justice (NPWJ)
One world foundation for development
Pax for Peace – Netherland
Pen International
RAW in WAR (Reach All Women in WAR)
Reporters without Borders (RSF)
Sisters Arab Forum for Human Rights (SAF)
SKeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom
Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR)
The Day After
Violations Documentation Center in Syria (VDC)
Vivarta
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
