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| Mission of inquiry to Syria to visit Nizar Nayyouf | Date: 11-11-1998 |
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Human Rights Mission to Syria :Nizar Nayyouf in Desperate Need of Medical Treatment Last week, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network asked permission of the Syrian authorities to send a mission to Syria to inquire into Mr. Nizar Nayyouf´s situation and to visit him in prison. Nizar Nayyouf, a journalist, writer, and human rights activist, is currently serving a 10 year prison sentence at Mezze military prison in Damascus. He is reported to be gravely ill and may die unless he receives immediate treatment for Hodgkin's disease, a form of cancer that can be cured with proper medical attention. According to the Network´s information, Syrian authorities have refused to provide Nayyouf with the necessary treatment unless he pledges to refrain from political activity and renounces alleged "false statements" he made about the human rights situation in Syria. In a letter addressed to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, of the Interior, of Justice and of Health the Network asks for all necessary steps to be taken in order to let Nizar Nayyouf receive unconditional medical treatment. Furthermore, the Network asks that his case may be dealt with in a just and human manner, and that a mission of inquiry may visit Nizar Nayyouf in prison. The Network´s delegation is composed of Mr. Per Stadig, Lawyer and member of the International Committee of Jurists, Sweden; and Mr. Muhammed Mandour, Hospital Director and coordinator of the Arab Regional Working Group for Human Rights, Egypt. The objective of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network is to contribute to the implementation of the universal principles of human rights as expressed by all international instruments on human rights and by the Barcelona Declaration of November 1995. Nizar Nayyouf, the editor in chief of the monthly Sawt al-Democratiyya, has been imprisoned solely for practising his internationally recognized right to free expression with regard to the human rights situation in Syria. Nayyouf is a leading member of the independent Committees for the Defence of Democratic Freedoms and Human Rights in Syria (CDF) which is a member of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network. In addition to Hodgkin's disease, Mr. Nayyouf suffers from several other serious ailments, including partial paralysis of his legs, kidney failure, and deteriorating eyesight. |
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