August, 15 2011, 04:02pm EDT
Young Syrian Activists Held Amid Widespread Repression, says Amnesty International
At least three young human rights activists who helped to organize peaceful protests in and near Damascus are being held incommunicado in unknown locations after their recent arrest, while fears are growing for a fourth who has gone missing.
The news of the activists' plight comes amid reports that some 25 people have been killed since yesterday in the port city of Latakia, where Syrian tanks and ships reportedly continue to shell residential areas in an attempt to quell protests.
WASHINGTON
At least three young human rights activists who helped to organize peaceful protests in and near Damascus are being held incommunicado in unknown locations after their recent arrest, while fears are growing for a fourth who has gone missing.
The news of the activists' plight comes amid reports that some 25 people have been killed since yesterday in the port city of Latakia, where Syrian tanks and ships reportedly continue to shell residential areas in an attempt to quell protests.
Across Syria, more than 1,700 people have been killed since mass protests began in mid-March, according to a list of names compiled by Amnesty International.
"The Syrian authorities must immediately reveal the whereabouts of any activists arrested in connection with the ongoing pro-reform protests and give them access to their families and lawyers," said Philip Luther, deputy director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Program.
"If they are being held solely for their involvement in peaceful protests, the authorities have no basis to continue holding them, and they must be released immediately and unconditionally as they would be prisoners of conscience," said Luther. "The Syrian authorities must also investigate reports of torture and other ill-treatment in detention and bring those responsible to justice."
Sources have told Amnesty International that two of the activists - Islam al-Dabbas and Majd al-Din Kholani, both of whom are students from Daraya, southwest of Damascus - had been beaten severely following their arrest by Air Force Security on July 22 and August 8, respectively.
According to human rights activists, Air Force Security oversees arrests in Daraya. Along with the other Syrian intelligence services, it regularly detains people suspected of opposing the government and holds them incommunicado for lengthy periods in detention centers that are notorious for torture and other ill-treatment.
Women's rights activist Hanadi Zahlout was arrested at a cafe in Damascus on August 4. Detainees recently released from the Political Security branch in Damascus said they had seen her in detention there and that she had made a confession after being forced to watch her friend being tortured.
Damascus-based activist and film producer Shadi Abu Fakher was last heard from on July 23 when he phoned a friend he was meeting that day to say he was just two minutes away.
Family members of the detained activists have been too afraid to ask authorities for details of their whereabouts, sources have told Amnesty International, which fears they may have been subjected to enforced disappearance.
All four activists had helped to organize peaceful pro-reform demonstrations in and near the capital. Islam al-Dabbas in particular was well-known for presenting water bottles with flowers to the army when they attempted to attack protesters in Daraya.
Since the beginning of popular protests in mid-March, the Syrian security forces have arrested thousands of people in cities across the country. Amnesty International has received numerous accounts of detainees being tortured and otherwise ill-treated, with some dying in custody as a result.
Amnesty International has repeatedly called on the U.N. Security Council to refer the situation in Syria to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), based on evidence of crimes against humanity.
Amnesty International is a global movement of millions of people demanding human rights for all people - no matter who they are or where they are. We are the world's largest grassroots human rights organization.
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Privacy Defenders Decry 'Spy Draft' in Section 702 Renewal Advanced by Senate
"It's not about who RISAA allows the government to spy on, it's about who RISAA allows the government to force to spy," explained one critic.
Apr 18, 2024
Civil liberties defenders on Thursday decried the U.S. Senate's advancement of the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act, which critics say lawmakers are trying to ram through without protection against warrantless surveillance and with a provision that would effectively make every American a spy whether they like it or not.
Senators voted 67-32 in favor of a cloture motion to begin voting on RISAA, a bill to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which expires on Friday. FISA—a highly controversial law that has been abused hundreds of thousands of times—allows warrantless surveillance of non-U.S. citizens but also often sweeps up Americans' communication data in the process.
In a 273-147 vote last week, House lawmakers passed RISAA, including an amendment critics say dramatically expands the government's unchecked surveillance authority by compelling a wide range of individuals and organizations—including businesses and the media—to cooperate in government spying operations.
This so-called "Make Everyone a Spy" clause would allow the attorney general or director of national intelligence to force electronic communication service providers to "immediately provide... all information, facilities, or assistance" the government deems necessary.
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Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)—who
said earlier this week that the bill would dragoon the American people into becoming "an agent for Big Brother"—on Thursday argued that "this issue demands a debate about meaningful reforms, not a rushed vote to rubber-stamp more warrantless government surveillance powers."
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The Biden administration and U.S. intelligence agencies vehemently oppose the Durbin-Cramer amendment. The White House called the measure "a reckless policy choice contrary to the key lessons of 9/11 and not grounded in any constitutional requirement or statute."
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Columbia President Minouche Shafik informed the campus community on Thursday that she had authorized the police to clear the encampment.
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"Correct," replied Shafik.
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