PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 24/015/2008

10 June 2008

Further information on UA 214/07 (MDE 24/041/2007, 20 August 2007) and follow-up (MDE 24/009/2008, 19 February 2008)- Fear of torture and other ill treatment/detention without charge

SYRIA Ma’rouf Mulla Ahmed (m) aged 54, leading member of the Kurdish Yeketi Party

Kurdish activist Ma’rouf Mulla Ahmed was released on bail on 5 March. His trial will take place before the Military Court in the north-eastern town of Qamishli.

He is a leading member of the unauthorized Kurdish Yeketi Party, which calls for improved treatment of Syria's Kurdish community, many of whom are denied citizenship and other basic rights. According to the party, Ma’rouf Mulla Ahmed is charged with “attempting to sever part of the Syrian territory to annex it to a foreign state" (Article 267 of the Penal Code); “involvement in an unauthorized organization” (Article 288); “inciting sectarian strife” (Article 307); and involvement in “any gathering or procession on a public road or in a public place, which is considered to provoke unrest” (Article 336).

Ma’rouf Mulla Ahmed was arrested on 12 August 2007, while travelling by bus to Lebanon, to visit friends. He was held for over six months without access to legal representation.

No further action is requested from the UA network. Amnesty International will continue to monitor the situation of Ma’rouf Mulla Ahmed, and take further campaigning action as necessary.