DCMF Calls for Release Freedom of Expression Defenders Held in Syria

Doha, June 24 (QNA) - The Doha Centre for Media Freedom (DCMF) has joined the undersigned rights groups from around the world who are seriously concerned about human rights defenders, journalists, writers and bloggers in Syria who have been subjected to enforced disappearance, which has contributed to the lack of credible information available about human rights violations on the ground. The rights group called on the Syrian government to provide information about the whereabouts of all those detained in violation of their right to free expression and to release them immediately. We further call on all interested parties, specifically United Nations Special Envoy to Syria Kofi Annan, to seek assurances that everyone will be allowed to safely and freely report on human rights violations during the ongoing conflict. According to a release by the DCMF, the rights group called on the Syrian authorities to immediately reveal the whereabouts of all detained human rights defenders, journalists, writers and bloggers, and to ensure they have unrestricted access to their family, lawyers; and guarantee that they are protected from any torture or other ill-treatment; The group also called on the Syrian government to respect its international obligations including those outlined in the UN Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms; They also urged the UN to press for the immediate and unconditional release of all those currently detained in violation of their right to freedom of expression, guaranteed under Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Syria is a state party. (QNA)