Amnesty International: Syrian activists held on spurious terrorism charges face prolonged detention
The Syrian authorities must drop charges against five human rights activists whose "patently unfair" terror trial was today put on hold for another two months, said Amnesty International.
The five men from the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM), all of whom have been allegedly tortured or otherwise ill-treated in custody, were due to appear at the Anti-Terrorism Court in Damascus today.
"This trial is patently unfair. The only ‘crime’ committed by these activists was to carry out their legitimate human rights work. The Syrian authorities must drop the spurious charges against them,” said Philip Luther, Middle East and North Africa Director at Amnesty International.
All five men were arrested on 16 February 2012, when the SCM offices in Damascus were raided by uniformed men believed to be members of the Air Force Intelligence. ... The indictment against them refers to activities such as monitoring online news by the Syrian opposition, publishing studies on the human rights situation in Syria and documenting the names of people detained or killed in the conflict.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/syrian-activists-held-spurious-terrorism-charges-face-prolonged-detention-2013-06-26