Pressemittelung
In einer gemeinsamen Erklärung fordern heute über 50 Organisationen aus der arabischen Welt, Europa und den USA die Freilassung von vier vor genau einem Jahr entführten syrischen Menschenrechtsaktivist/innen. Die Träger/innen des Petra-Kelly-Preises 2014 der Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Razan Zeitouneh, Samira al-Khalil, Wael Hamadeh und Nazem Hammadi waren am 9. Dezember 2013 in der Nähe von Damaskus von Unbekannten entführt worden. Seither fehlt von ihnen jede Spur. Die Entführung geschah in dem Damaszener Vorort Douma. Das Gebiet wird von bewaffneten islamistischen Gruppen kontrolliert, u.a. von der Army of Islam der Islamic Front, die aus verschiedenen Golfanrainer-Staaten Unterstützung erhalten soll.
Mehr als 50 Organisationen, darunter amnesty international, Human Rights Watch, die International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), die Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung und zahlreiche renommierte Organisationen der arabischen Welt forderten heute anlässlich des Jahrestages der Entführung von den bewaffneten Gruppen in Douma eine umgehende Koordinierung für eine sofortige Freilassung der vier. Ebenso riefen sie alle die islamistischen Gruppen unterstützenden Staaten, Religionsführer und Privatpersonen dazu auf, entsprechenden Druck auf diese Gruppen auszuüben und sich ihrerseits nachdrücklich für eine Freilassung der vier sowie ein Ende der andauernden Entführungen einzusetzen. Die sogenannten Douma Four seien aufgrund ihres legitimen Engagements als Menschenrechtsverteidiger entführt und ihrer Freiheit beraubt worden. Dies widerspräche sämtlichen internationalen Menschenrechtsstandards. (Die Erklärung im englischen Original finden Sie weiter unten in dieser Mail)
Das Violations Documentation Center wurde im April 2011 von der Rechtsanwältin Razan Zeitouneh gegründet, um Informationen über Verstöße gegen das Humanitäre Völkerrecht im syrischen Bürgerkrieg öffentlich zugänglich zu machen. Seitdem überwachen, sammeln und dokumentieren über 30 Mitglieder der unabhängigen NGO unter ständiger Gefährdung sämtliche Menschenrechtsverbrechen in Syrien, vom wem sie auch begangen werden.
Der Petra-Kelly-Preis wurde am 27. November im Rahmen eines Festaktes in der Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung stellvertretend an Amir Kazkaz, Mitarbeiter und Vertreter des VDC, überreicht.
Reden zur Preisverleihung:
Gemeinsame Erklärung (Englischer Originaltext):
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JOINT PUBLIC STATEMENT
Syria: No word on four abducted activists
A year on, no information on Douma Four
The prominent Syrian human rights defenders Razan Zaitouneh, Samira Khalil, Wa’el Hamada and Nazem Hamadi – the Douma Four—remain missing a year after their abduction, 55 organizations said today. The four were abducted in Douma, a city near Damascus under the control of armed opposition groups. They should be released immediately, the groups said.
On 9 December 2013, at about 10:40 pm, a group of armed men stormed into the office of the Violations Documentation Center in Syria (VDC), a Syrian human rights monitoring group, in Duma and abducted Razan Zaitouneh, the head of the center, and her colleagues – Wa’el Hamada, who is also her husband, Samira Khalil and Nazem Hamadi. The four human rights defenders have not been heard of since.
The armed groups exercising de facto control over Duma include the Army of Islam, headed by Zahran Alloush, which is part of the Islamic Front, a coalition of armed groups. The groups should immediately release the four human rights defenders if they are in the groups’ custody, or work toward ensuring they are released unharmed and without delay. Countries that support these groups, as well as religious leaders and others who may have influence over them, should also press for the immediate release of the four activists and for an end to abductions of civilians.
Razan Zaitouneh has been one of the key lawyers defending political prisoners in Syria since 2001. Since the beginning of the crisis in 2011, Zaitouneh has played a key role in efforts to defend human rights for all and protect independent groups and activists in Syria. Along with a number of other activists, she established the VDC, which monitors human rights violations in Syria, and co-founded the Local Coordination Committees (LCCs), which coordinates the work of local committees in various cities and towns across Syria. She also established the Local Development and Small Projects Support Office (LDSPS), which assists non-governmental organizations in besieged Eastern Ghouta.
As a result, both by the Syrian authorities and armed opposition groups threatened her. She had been receiving threats for several months before her abduction. She described some of these threats in an article she wrote in the online news outlet Now Lebanon. She had also informed human rights activists outside Syria in September 2013 that local armed groups in Duma were threatening her. In April 2014, Razan Zaitouneh’s family issued a statement holding Zahran Alloush responsible for her and her colleagues’ wellbeing, given the large presence his group maintains in the area.
Samira Khalil, has been a longtime political activist in Syria. The Syrian government had detained her between 1987 and 1991 for her political activism. She later worked in a publishing house before shifting her efforts to working with the families of detainees and writing about detention in Syria. Before her abduction, she was working to help women in Douma support themselves by initiating small income-generating projects.
Wael Hamada was also an activist before the uprising in Syria. When peaceful protests first broke out in 2011, the government detained and later released Hamada. He is an active member and co-founder of the LCCs and the VDC. Before his abduction Hamada worked on providing desperately needed humanitarian assistance to the residents of besieged Eastern Ghouta.
Nazem Hammadi, a lawyer and poet, was one of the most prominent volunteer defenders of political prisoners before and during the uprising in Syria. He co-founded the LCCS and provided humanitarian assistance to residents of Eastern Ghouta.
The Douma Four appear to have been abducted and arbitrarily deprived of their liberty in response to their legitimate activities as human rights defenders. Such actions are prohibited by international humanitarian law and are contrary to international human rights standards. The armed groups in control of the area and the governments who support them should do everything in their power to facilitate the release of Razan Zaitouneh, Wa’el Hamada, Samira Khalil and Nazem Hamadi.
Signatories:
Alhaqanya Organization for Law firm and Law, Egypt.
Alkarama Foundation.
Amnesty International.
Arab Network for Human Rights Information, ANHRI.
Assyrian Network for Human Rights.
Badael for sustainable peace in Syria.
Caabu – The Council for Arab-British Understanding.
Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS).
The SKeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom.
Women’s Studies Center – Palestine.
CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation.
Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies.
Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights (ECESR).
Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights.
Euro Mediterranean Human Rights Network, EMHRN.
European Women Initiative.
Every Casualty, UK.
FemmeS pour la Démocratie.
Fraternity Center for Democracy and Civil Society.
Freedom House, USA.
Front Line Defender.
Gulf Center for Human Rights Studies, GCHRS.
Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Berlin
HIVOS - Humanist Institute for Cooperation with Developing Countries.
HRDAG - Human Rights Data Analysis Group.
Human Rights Watch, HRW.
Humanrights.ch / MERS- Swiss.
Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR).
International Media Support (IMS)
International Service for Human Rights – ISHR.
Kesh Malek Organization, Aleppo Syria.
Kurdish Organization for Human Rights in Syria (DAD).
Lawyers for Lawyers, Netherland.
Lebanese Center for Human Rights (CLDH).
Local Development and Small Projects Support office (LDSPS).
Maan Organization for Supporting Women Issues.
No Peace without Justice, NPWJ.
Nuestra Aparente Rendición Association.
Pax Christi International.
PAX for peace, Netherland.
RAW in WAR (Reach All Women in War).
Swedish network for democracy and HR.
Syria Campaign.
Syria Justice and Accountability Center (SJAC).
Syrian Association for Citizenship.
Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM).
Syrian Center for Studies and Legal Researches.
Syrian Human Rights Network (SHRN).
Syrian Liberals lawyers Association.
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, UK.
Syrians for Citizenship State.
The Day after Association (TDA).
The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH).
The Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation, Sweden.
The World Organization against Torture (OMCT).
Violations Documentation Center in Syria (VDC).
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Pressekontakt Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung:
Michael Alvarez Kalverkamp, Pressesprecher
Tel.: +49-30-285 34 - 202
E-Mail: alvarez@boell.de
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