Case History: Jdea Nawfal
On 1 April 2016, human rights defender Mr Jdea Abdullah Nawfal was arrested at the immigration office at the Syrian-Lebanese border by members of the Syrian security forces and was prevented from attending a workshop on human rights in Beirut.
Jdea Abdullah Nawfal is the executive director of the Syrian Centre for Democracy and Civil Rights. The Centre aims to promote the culture of human rights within Syria. He was sentenced in 1992 to five years imprisonment in connection with his peaceful human rights work in the Committee for the Defence of Democratic Freedoms and Human Rights in Syria.
On 1 April 2016, human rights defender Mr Jdea Abdullah Nawfal was arrested at the immigration office at the Syrian-Lebanese border by members of the Syrian security forces and was prevented from attending a workshop on human rights in Beirut. He is currently detained at the Military Intelligence Branch 235, known as the 'Palestine Branch', located in Damascus and has been denied access to lawyers and to his family.
Jdea Abdullah Nawfal is the executive director of the Syrian Centre for Democracy and Civil Rights established in 2011 at the rise of the Syrian conflict. The Centre aims to promote the culture of human rights within Syria. Jdea Abdullah Nawfal served five years imprisonment in 1992 in Sednaya military prison in connection with his peaceful human rights work at the Committee for the Defence of Democratic Freedoms and Human Rights in Syria, a Damascus-based non profit organisation dedicated to establishing human rights education in Syria and monitoring and preventing human rights violations.
In 2014, Jdea Abdullah Nawfal was detained for 3 months. He was arrested by Syrian security forces on October 2014 at the Lebanese-Syrian border while he was returning to Damascus from Beirut after participating in a workshop on human rights. He was denied access to lawyers, and his family did not receive any information in relation to his whereabouts. By the time of his release he was suffering from acute health conditions that needed special medical care.
Front Line Defenders expresses concern about the arbitrary detention of human rights defender Jdea Abdullah Nawfal, and believes that it is solely related to his peaceful and legitimate human rights activities.
Front Line Defenders urges the authorities in Syria to:
- Immediately and unconditionally release human rights defender Jdea Abdullah Nawfal, as Front Line believes that he is being held solely as a result of his legitimate and peaceful work in the defence of human rights;
- Allow the family and lawyer of Jdea Abdullah Nawfal immediate and unfettered access to him;
- Guarantee in all circumstances that all human rights defenders in Syria are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions.
On 31 October 2014 human rights defender Mr Jdea Abdullah Nawfal was arrested and arbitrarily detained by Syrian security forces on the Lebanese-Syrian border.
He was on his way back to Syria after attending a human rights event in Lebanon. He has not yet been officially charged and his exact whereabouts are still unknown.
Jdea Abdullah Nawfal is the executive director of the Syrian Centre for Democracy and Civil Rights. The Centre aims to promote the culture of human rights within Syria. He was sentenced in 1992 to five years imprisonment in connection with his peaceful human rights work in the Committee for the Defence of Democratic Freedoms and Human Rights in Syria.
It is also reported that Jdea Abdullah Nawfal has been denied access to his lawyers and to his family. The human rights defender suffers from serious health conditions and needs special medical care. His colleagues are concerned for his health and well-being.
Front Line Defenders believes that the detention of Jdea Abdullah Nawfal is solely related to his peaceful and legitimate human rights activities. Front Line Defenders is further concerned by the targeting of civil society and human rights defenders in Syria.
