His Excellency Bashar al-Assad
President of Syria
Damascus
Arab Republic of Syria

Vienna, 6 December, 2001

Your Excellency,

The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists, strongly condemns the ongoing campaign of harassment and violence against the Nayyouf family. In protest at the government’s campaign of intimidation, three members of the family, Hayyan, Mamdouh and Salah Nayyouf, have now begun a hunger strike and are currently surviving only on water.

According to the information before IPI, on 1 December in Lattakia, members of the Alawi sect brutally attacked Hayyan Nayyouf, the brother of Syrian journalist Nizar Nayyouf. The attackers were sent to punish the Nayyouf family for refusing to condemn the critical statements made by Nizar. While beating Hayyan, the attackers stated that “you [the Nayyouf family] are a rebellious family and it is our duty to punish you”. The 1 December assault follows a series of anonymous death threats which stated that the Nayyouf family members “will be killed in the streets”. IPI is especially concerned because this is the first act of physical violence carried out by the authorities against the Nayyouf family, excluding of course the nine years of torture and confinement of Nizar himself.

Previously, IPI learned that the Syrian authorities are preparing to exile the journalist’s family to Lebanon. In a bid to keep them incommunicado until successfully removed from the country, the authorities have cut off the telephone lines of Nayyouf family members. The journalist’s father, Ali Nayyouf, met with Brigadier Solman Abdallah, the chair of military intelligence in the city of Lattakia, who told him, “These are the orders of the high authorities in Damascus.”

The disturbing behaviour of the authorities follows the expiration on 22 November of a government-imposed two-week ultimatum presented to the family, namely to either condemn Nizar Nayyouf’s critical statements or face enforced exile. By refusing to condemn the journalist’s statements in the past, family members have suffered systematic harassment by the authorities. This harassment included the confiscation of the Nayyouf family’s land, the firing of two of Nizar Nayyouf’s brothers from teaching posts in state schools and threats to prevent the third brother from graduating from university. However, the brutal 1 December attack on Hayyan represents a dangerous escalation by the authorities and is a measure of how little has changed for Syrian human rights since Nizar Nayyouf was imprisoned a decade ago.

On 20 November, in a show of solidarity and concern for the Nayyouf family, IPI and 17 other human rights organisations signed an appeal urging Your Excellency to bring to an end the grossly unfair treatment of the Nayyouf family. However, the action of Syrian authorities since 20 November leads IPI to doubt whether either the appeal or human rights are being taken seriously within Syria.

We urge Your Excellency to do everything in your power to bring to a halt the now violent campaign against the Nayyouf family. IPI will hold the Syrian authorities responsible for any tragedy resulting from the ongoing harassment.

We thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

Johann P. Fritz
Director