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Rights Group Urges Syria to Eliminate Special Court

[Washington Post] Alia Ibrahim - A Human Rights Watch report Tuesday called on Syria to abolish its Supreme State Security Court, an institution used to stifle opposition to the government. The Supreme State Security Court "consistently ignores claims by defendants that their confessions were extracted under torture and frequently convicts them on vague and overbroad offenses that essentially criminalize freedom of expression and association," the human rights group said. The report said 153 bloggers, activists and private citizens have been tried on vague charges such as weakening national sentiment or awakening sectarian tensions. "This is not a court. This is just a means to legitimize the rulings of security apparatuses," said Mohammad Abdallah, a Syrian human rights activist now living in the U.S. who was tried by the court on charges of publishing false information.
2009-02-25 06:00:00
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