Nationwide Campaign of Arrests Continues
Human Rights Watch
"(New York) - Syria's government should immediately lift its 10-day siege of the southern town of Daraa and allow movement in and out of the city, including access for independent observers, Human Rights Watch said today. Syria's security forces should also immediately stop the nationwide campaign of arbitrary arrests against protesters and activists, Human Rights Watch said.
Syria's army surrounded Daraa on April 25, 2011, cutting electricity, phone lines, and internet services, and preventing any movement into and out of the city, including for humanitarian supplies of medicines and food. Agence France-Presse and Syrian TV reported on May 5 that the army had started to withdraw from Daraa. However, a Daraa resident reached by Human Rights Watch on a satellite phone indicated that the military was still restricting movement into the town, including the import of essential food and medicine items.
"The Syrian government is collectively punishing the residents of Daraa because some demonstrators from the town dared protest against it," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "It would appear that the government has a lot to hide, because it's refusing to let Daraa residents out or independent observers in."
Human Rights Watch
"(New York) - Syria's government should immediately lift its 10-day siege of the southern town of Daraa and allow movement in and out of the city, including access for independent observers, Human Rights Watch said today. Syria's security forces should also immediately stop the nationwide campaign of arbitrary arrests against protesters and activists, Human Rights Watch said.
Syria's army surrounded Daraa on April 25, 2011, cutting electricity, phone lines, and internet services, and preventing any movement into and out of the city, including for humanitarian supplies of medicines and food. Agence France-Presse and Syrian TV reported on May 5 that the army had started to withdraw from Daraa. However, a Daraa resident reached by Human Rights Watch on a satellite phone indicated that the military was still restricting movement into the town, including the import of essential food and medicine items.
"The Syrian government is collectively punishing the residents of Daraa because some demonstrators from the town dared protest against it," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "It would appear that the government has a lot to hide, because it's refusing to let Daraa residents out or independent observers in."
The siege violates Syria's obligations, as a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to respect fundamental rights and the rules of law guaranteed in the treaty. Even during a genuine emergency, any restrictions on rights must be strictly limited and justified by the exigencies of the actual situation, conditions that Syria has not met....."
No comments:
Post a Comment