Where is my brother Tahsein Mamo?
August 9, 2010 by sks
Filed under News, Support Kurds, Syria
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Aiysha Mamo has asked International Support Kurds in Syria Association – SKS for assistance to discover the circumstances and whereabouts of her brother Tahsein Mamo who has disappeared in the Syrian prison system. Aiysha who lives in Germany said, ‘I would do anything to find my brother. I think about him every day, I miss him so much’.
Tahsein’s cousin, Yaseen Mamo has also expressed his deep concern about what may have happened, and spoke of how their lives had been affected by his disappearance.
Tahsein, born 1980 in Afrin is married with one son. He lives in Aleppo. He was arrested with four other people at the end of January 2007 during a raid by a patrol of military security officers, and they were taken to the branch of military security in Aleppo, and then on to the Investigation Branch of the military security in Damascus. Read more
Iran: Executed Dissidents ‘Tortured to Confess’
At Least 17 More Kurdish Prisoners at Risk of Imminent Execution
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“These hangings of four Kurdish prisoners are the latest example of the government’s unfair use of the death penalty against ethnic minority dissidents. The judiciary routinely accuses Kurdish dissidents, including civil society activists, of belonging to armed separatist groups and sentences them to death in an effort to crush dissent.”
Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director
(New York) – Iranian authorities executed five prisoners, four of them ethnic Kurds, without warning their families, and have so far refused to release their bodies, Human Rights Watch said today. These executions follow convictions that appear to have relied on the use of torture. Read more
HRW World Report 2010: Syria
Syria’s poor human rights situation deteriorated further in 2009, as the authorities arrested political and human rights activists, censored websites, detained bloggers, and imposed travel bans. No political parties are licensed. Emergency rule, imposed in 1963, remains in effect and Syria’s multiple security agencies continue to detain people without arrest warrants. The Supreme State Security Court (SSSC), an exceptional court with almost no procedural guarantees, resumed trials in March 2009, following an eight-month suspension. Read more
Turkey: Kurdish Party Banned – Order to Close Down Democratic Society Party Shows Need for Constitutional Reform
Banning the Democratic Society Party is a blow to efforts to resolve the Kurdish issue and ensure minority rights in Turkey.As a matter of urgency, the government should revise the constitution and Law on Political Parties, so that this kind of ban won’t be possible in the future.
Emma Sinclair-Webb, Turkey researcher
(Istanbul) – The decision today by Turkey’s constitutional court to ban the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party demonstrates that Turkey urgently needs to reform its constitution and ensure its laws are compatible with human rights, Human Rights Watch said.
The court found that the party had promoted Kurdish separatism and unanimously issued a ruling to close down the party permanently and exclude 37 party members from politics for five years. The Democratic Society Party was the 25th political party closed down in Turkey since 1962.
“The court’s decision to ban yet another party shows just how urgently constitutional reform is needed to guarantee political participation in Turkey,” said Emma Sinclair-Webb, Turkey researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The Democratic Society Party is the latest victim of laws that do not conform with international human rights standards.” Read more
Syria: Lift Blackout on Prisoners’ Fate
No Information About Many Sednaya Detainees Since Violent Response to July 2008 Riot
(New York, December 10, 2009) – Syrian authorities should make public without further delay the fate of all prisoners whose whereabouts and well-being remain a mystery almost 18 months after security forces put down a riot at the Sednaya prison in July 2008, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch released a partial list today of Sednaya detainees whose families have not been able to get any information about them. Read more
HRW report: Group Denial – Repression of Kurdish Political and Cultural Rights in Syria
November 26, 2009 by sks
Filed under Reports, Support Kurds, Syria
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The international community can play a constructive role in promoting the rights of Kurds in Syria. So far, Syria’s crackdown on Kurdish activists has generally gone unnoticed internationally. This lack of interest by international policymakers has many causes, including the remoteness of the areas inhabited by the Syrian Kurds, restrictions imposed by the Syrian authorities, and the international community’s focus on Syria’s role in regional politics. However, ignoring the treatment of Kurds in Syria will not make the problem go away. The international community, in particular the United States and the European Union, which are both currently engaged in substantive talks with the Syrian government, should ensure that human rights concerns, including the treatment of Kurds, are part of their discussions with Syria. 26 November 2009
