Two MEA Laureates are in detention currently. Please do not forget them and send a postcard to the authorities. You can order the cards from the MEA Secretariat, info@martinennalsaward.org. Happy new Year to you all
Archive for the 'Al-Hassani' Category
Don’t forget the two MEA Laureates in detention
December 23, 2010Eight important NGOs protest assault on MEA laureate Al-Hassani in Syrian jail – situation criticial
November 4, 2010On 4 November 2010 eight leading human rights organizations – of which 6 are on the jury of the Martin Ennals Award (MEA) – called on the Syrian government to guarantee the safety of Muhannad al-Hassani, a human rights defender serving a three year prison term, after he was assaulted last week in ‘Adra prison, Damascus. The eight organizations – Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Commission of Jurists, the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN) and Front Line – urged the Syrian government to investigate the assault and protect Muhannad al-Hassani from further brutality or ill-treatment. The joint statement adds some important new development:
“Muhannad al-Hassani was physically assaulted on 28 October by a prisoner sentenced for a criminal offence who was being held in the same cell in ‘Adra prison. For five days after the attack Muhannad al-Hassani continued to be held in the same cell as his attacker, but is then reported to have been moved to a tiny underground isolation cell. He and other political prisoners in ‘Adra prison have now launched a hunger strike to protest against his solitary confinement.
“Muhannad al-Hassani was physically assaulted on 28 October by a prisoner sentenced for a criminal offence who was being held in the same cell in ‘Adra prison. For five days after the attack Muhannad al-Hassani continued to be held in the same cell as his attacker, but is then reported to have been moved to a tiny underground isolation cell. He and other political prisoners in ‘Adra prison have now launched a hunger strike to protest against his solitary confinement.
The prisoner who attacked Muhannad al-Hassani is said to have been moved into the same cell only recently and to have beaten him using a heavy metal finger ring he was wearing at the time of the assault although prisoners are not normally permitted to wear such ‘jewellery’. As a result of the assault, Muhannad al-Hassani suffered a cut to his forehead requiring ten stitches, swelling to his eye and cheek and bruising to his body.
Following the incident, the police took statements from other prisoners who had witnessed the assault and interviewed Muhannad al-Hassani in the presence of his attacker, but reportedly took no action when he continued to threaten him and accused him of being unpatriotic and did not even make note of the threats.
Muhannad al-Hassani was subsequently taken to a doctor at a government forensic clinic in Douma, a town between ‘Adra and Damascus, who issued a report on his injuries on 1 November. The case was referred to a court in Douma though Muhannad al-Hassani’s lawyers were not informed and so were unable to be present at the hearing.
The eight human rights organizations call on the Syrian authorities to carry out a prompt, thorough and transparent, independent investigation into the assault on Muhannad al-Hassani and the circumstances which led to his being exposed to such risk. In particular, they must examine whether officials at ‘Adra prison were complicit in the attack by moving the prisoner responsible into Muhannad al-Hassani’s cell to facilitate it, and why they continued to hold them in the same cell for several days afterwards. The results of such an investigation should be made public and those responsible for the attack must be brought to justice.”
The organizations also called for an immediate end to Muhannad al-Hassani’s solitary confinement and for guarantees of his safety while he remains in prison, although he should NOT be in prison to start with (see previous posts). The statement adds that “other government critics are previously reported to have been assaulted by criminal inmates, as well as prison guards, while held in ‘Adra prison. In December 2006, for example, Anwar al-Bunni, another human rights lawyer, was pushed down a flight of stairs by a criminal detainee and beaten on his head in the presence of prison guards, who failed to intervene.”
Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders also denounces beating of MEA Laureate
November 2, 2010Today, 2 November 2010, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), also condemned the beating in prison of human rights lawyer Muhannad Al-Hassani. The report describes how Muhannad Al-Hassani, a Syrian lawyer, President of the Syrian Organisation for Human Rights “Sawasiya” and Laureate of the MEA 2010, was attacked by a cell mate, a certain Mr. Mohammad Hamadi. The latter is serving time for rape, armed robbery and forming a criminal gang. It was reported that while he was beating Mr. Al-Hassani, he was screaming at him accusing him of not being a nationalist. The Observatory adds that “Following the assault, the prison authorities opened an investigation on the assault. Though the attacker threatened to kill Mr. Al-Hassani before the investigation committee, these threats were not recorded in the charge sheet. Several days after the assault, Mr. Al-Hassani remains detained in the same cell together with his attacker, despite his request to transfer the latter to another cell.”
The Observatory fears that Mr. Al-Hassani could face further acts of violence and expresses its deepest concern about his security while he continues to be arbitrarily detained, as similar attacks against other imprisoned human rights defenders were reported in the past. The Observatory also call the authorities to carry out a prompt, effective, thorough, independent and impartial investigation into the above-mentioned attack, the result of which must be made public, in order to bring all those responsible before a competent court and to release Muhannad Al-Hassani, as his detention is arbitrary and it aims at punishing him for his human
International Commission of Jurists takes up case of Al-Hassani
November 2, 2010On 1 November 2010 the INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION OF JURISTS (ICJ) followed up on the case of Al-Hassani who was beaten in jail, with a press release entitled: “Syria: Muhannad Al-Hasani, ICJ Commissioner and Martin Ennals Laureate physically assaulted in jail”. The International Commission of Jurists deplored the failure of the Syrian authorities to protect the physical integrity ICJ Commissioner Muhannad Al-Hasani, an internationally renowned lawyer and human rights defender currently serving a three-year sentence in Adra Prison, Damascus. Some of the key paragraphs are:
“Muhannad Al-Hasani was severely beaten by a prisoner who accused him of working against the interests of the Syrian nation. The prisoner is believed to have been acting at the behest of the Syrian security services. Mr. Al-Hasani is suffering from hematoma and bleeding from his eye and forehead as a result of the assault. The attack on Muhannad Al-Hasani is an attack on human rights defenders everywhere who strive to protect rights under the rule of law. The Syrian authorities have brazenly rebuffed the international community by allowing this assault in the immediate aftermath of his receiving the Martin Ennals award said Wilder Tayler, ICJ Secretary General. It is the responsibility of the Syrian authorities to protect Mr. Al-Hasani from any form of ill-treatment and they must be held accountable for these attacks, added Wilder Tayler.”
“This assault intensifies a campaign of harassment and intimidation against Mr. Al-Hasani, because A of his work as a lawyer and as a human rights defender. His present prison sentence comes after his conviction by the second criminal court of Damascus for “weakening national sentiments” following an unfair trial. Prior to this he was permanently disbarred from practicing law by the non-independent Syrian Bar Association.”
For more information, please contact Saïd Benarbia, Middle East & North Africa Legal Advisor, via: info@icj.org
Amsterdam Dean’s Award presented to Muhannad al-Hassani
October 22, 2010| On Thursday 21 October 2010, a week after the MEA ceremony in Geneva, Muhannad Al-Hassani, has also received the Amsterdam Dean’s Award. The Amsterdam Bar Association has been following his case and is convinced that the actions taken against him are textbook examples of violations of human rights. His freedom of speech, freedom of association and freedom of assembly, in addition to the freedom to practice his profession, have been unacceptability restricted. Muhannad al-Hassani, was very well aware of the personal risks of his work, but did not allow these to discourage him. Iyas Maleh, the son of the 80-year old Syrian lawyer, Haitham al-Maleh (who was Al-Hassani’s counsel) and who is also serving a prison sentence, accepted the award on behalf of Muhannad al-Hassani. You can read more about this and the speech given by Amsterdam Dean Germ Kemper at http://www.advocatenvooradvocaten.nl/cms/content/view/403/31/. The pressure on the Credentials Committee of the International Bar Association to throw out the Syrian Bar is growing.
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Al-Hassani, MEA 2010 Laureate on You Tube and reaction by the EU
October 21, 2010The portrait of the 2010 MEA Laureate Muhannad Al-Hassani (duration approximately 15 mn) can now be found on:
VIMEO: http://vimeo.com/16030613 as well as YouTube (where it had to be in 2 parts) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiZOF_8OOdM PART 1 andhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkZ5ZOwU5KQ PART 2.
It was made by True Heroes, Films for Human Rights Defenders.
There is also a strongly worded EU statement that can be found on: http://ec.europa.eu/delegations/syria/press_corner/all_news/news/2010/20101018_ar.htm (in Arabic) and http://ec.europa.eu/delegations/syria/press_corner/all_news/news/2010/20101018_en.htm (in English)
Please pass on this information to those who need to know
Introducing the MEA Laureate Al Hassani at his ceremony
October 19, 2010Last Friday – 15 October 2010 – I had the honour to introduce MUHANNAD AL-HASSANI, the 2010 Laureate of the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders. The ceremony took place at the beautiful Victoria Hall in Geneva in front of an audience of five hundred people and with more watching it on the internet because the event was being streamed in English as well as Arabic.
I first briefed the audience on what happened to Emad Baghi, last year’s Laureate from Iran. He was arrested at his home on December 28, 2009 and detained without charge. After elaborate campaigns NGOs on the Jury and many others, he was released on bail in June this year. However, immediately the regime revived the pending charges against him and in July and September Baghi was sentenced to respectively one and six years in prison and banned from media and political activities for five years. He remains free from imprisonment for now, pending an appeal, but he and other human rights defenders in Iran should not be forgotten.
al hassani in court
Al-Hassani was unanimously selected as Laureate 2010 by the MEA Jury which is composed of 10 leading human rights NGOs. If Al-Hassani looked sad on the huge posters that were placed throughout Geneva there are good reasons. He was sentenced to 3 years imprisonment for – pay attention to the dangerously vague wording – “weakening national sentiments” and “spreading false news” and…, on top of it, he had to prove his own innocence against these ludicrous charges. Muhannad Al-Hassani, as a well-established lawyer, has challenged the oppressive legal framework imposed by the Syrian government. He decided to report on legal proceedings before the State Security Court (which are supposed to be public). His NGO Swasiya has been denied registration for the past six years. He has been subjected to a travel ban and his office and communications have been under constant surveillance by Syrian security. I think that the Government of Syria should understand that its efforts to gain respect in the international community will lack credibility as long as it keeps imprisoning those defending human rights. In addition, in an appalling demonstration of servility to the Government, the Syrian Bar Association in 2009 prohibited Mr Al-Hassani from practicing law for the rest of his life… It should be the Bar Association itself that is debarred and I hope that the International Bar Association will soon address this shocking issue. The single most important goal of the Martin Ennals Award is to increase the visibility of Mr Al-Hassani’s situation and that of the many other Human Rights Defenders in Syria. The ceremony in Geneva was a show of solidarity with Al-Hassani and his family, who were not allowed to travel to Geneva and receive the award.
Ceremony for Al-Hassani, 2010 MEA Laureate, very impressive
October 19, 2010The annual MEA ceremony has just taken place on Friday 15 October 2010 in Geneva. The forced absence of the Laureate, Muhannad Al-Hassani, who is serving a 3-year sentence, was to a large extent compensated for by the very ‘personal’ and exclusive portrait made by film produced by True Heroes (THF). The whole 1-hour ceremony can still be viewed on: http://www.martinennalsaward.org/video/bceremony_en.m4v. The audience in the Victoria Hall was approximately 500 persons and at least the same number of people has watched it in English or Arabic on the website, including the family of Al-Hassani. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights handed over the award to the representative of the laureate.
In addition to being convicted on ludicrous charges (see my other blog about what I said about Al-Hassani) the laureate was barred for life by the Syrian Bar Association. Fortunately the International Bar Association at its recent meeting in Vancouver has started to look into this misbehaviour by its Syrian member. Also the European Union made a strong statement in support of the Laureate. It can be viewed on: http://ec.europa.eu/delegations/syria/press_corner/all_news/news/2010/20101018_en.htm
IMPRISONED SYRIAN HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER HONORED IN CEREMONY ON INTERNET: 15 October 18h00 GMT
October 12, 2010WATCH Friday 15 October 18h00 GMT http:/www.martinennalsaward.org ceremony for the Laureate of the MEA in both English and Arabic.
Muhannad Al-Hassani, the Laureate of this year’s MEA, lingers in jail in Syria. He is a lawyer who has bravely defended human rights and challenged the oppressive Syrian government. A three-year prison term prevents him from being able to attend the award ceremony in person.
The Martin Ennals Award is granted each year to a person who has demonstrated an exceptional record of combating human rights violations by courageous and innovative means. Mr. Al-Hassani is a man of exceptional courage, who has been arbitrarily detained for defending the rule of law and the freedom of association. The MEA is the result of a unique collaboration of ten of the world’s leading human rights NGOs, who form the Jury.
Awarding the Martin Ennals Award and broadcasting the ceremony on the internet will increase the visibility of Mr. Al-Hassani’s situation and his valuable work. He has suffered enough.
Now the lawyer of Syrian MEA Laureate Al-Hassani has also been sentenced to 3 years in prison
July 5, 2010Haitham Al-Maleh (78), the lawyer of Muhannad Al-Hassani, the Laureate of the Martin Ennals Award 2010, was sentenced by a military court in Damascus on Sunday to three years for “spreading false information” and “weakening national sentiments” – the same charged laid on Muhannad Al-Hassani.
It would seem that weakening the sentiments for this nation, can be safely left to the Syrian regime itself!
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 
