September 8, 2010 by sks
‘Abd al-Karim Hussein, a Syrian Kurdish man held incommunicado after his forcible return from Norway, was released without charge on 02 September.
‘Abd al-Karim Hussein was forcibly returned from Norway on 18 August and was detained upon arrival to Syria on 19 August. He was incommunicado throughout the period of his detention. It is believed that for most of this time, he was held in the al-Fayha’ branch of Political Security in the Syrian capital, Damascus.
Political Security is one of several branches of the Syrian security forces, all of which regularly detain people on even the slightest suspicion of opposition to the government.
‘Abd al-Karim Hussein is the deputy director of the Association of Syrian Kurds in Norway, a non-governmental organization which aims to raise awareness about the situation of the Kurdish minority in Syria.
‘Abd al-Karim Hussein had left Syria for Norway in February 2006. He applied for asylum, but his application was rejected. He was arrested on 17 August 2010 and put on a plane to Damascus the following day, accompanied by two Norwegian police officers.
As far as Amnesty International is aware, ‘Abd al-Karim Hussein was released without charge and is now not in imminent danger of torture or other ill-treatment. However, we will continue to monitor his case.
Thanks to all those who took action on behalf of ‘Abd al-Karim Hussein. No further appeals are required.
Amnesty International
7 September 2010
Previous reports:
http://supportkurds.org/news/a-syrian-kurdish-man-has-been-held-incommunicado-since-19-august-2010/
http://supportkurds.org/news/press-statement-abdulkarim-hossain-arrested-upon-arrival/
http://supportkurds.org/news/urgent-appeal-to-the-norwegian-government-to-stop-the-deportation-of-kurdish-activist-abdulkarim-hossain-to-syria/
