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

Vienna, 24 April 2001

Your Excellency,

The International Press Institute (IPI) is deeply concerned about the fate of Nizar Nayyouf, a journalist and human rights activist, who is near death in a Damascus military prison after going on a renewed hunger strike.

According to information before IPI, Mr. Nayyouf began a hunger strike on 24 April after the authorities withdrew a promise, made earlier this month, to release him unconditionally. Mr. Nayyouf, who is suffering from Hodgkin’s disease, a form of cancer, and other health problems after years of torture and denial of adequate medical care, ended a 16-day hunger strike in February after prison authorities lifted a ban on visits from his family. IPI fears that he will not survive another hunger strike.

Mr. Nayyouf, a leading member of the banned Independent Committee for the Defence of Democratic Freedoms and Human Rights in Syria and editor-in-chief of its monthly newsletter, Sawt-al-Democratiyya (“Democracy’s Voice”), was arrested on 10 January 1992 and sentenced to 10 years in prison for allegedly disseminating false information and belonging to an unauthorised organisation.

While in prison, he has been tortured and beaten so severely that he is partially paralysed from the waist down and nearly blind. In addition to Hodgkin’s disease, he is suffering from liver disease, dermatitis, and ulcers. He is confined to a tiny isolation cell and the authorities have made it clear that he will only receive life-saving treatment if he pledges to refrain from political activity and signs an admission that he made false statements about the human rights situation in Syria.

IPI, the global network of editors and media executives, urges Your Excellency to ensure that human rights, including freedom of expression and of the press, are respected in Syria. We call upon you to exercise compassion and to ensure that Nizar Nayyouf is released immediately and unconditionally.

We thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

Johann P. Fritz
Director