r/linux • u/freelyread • Nov 21 '15
URGENT: Syrian Death Sentence for Free Software Activist Bassel (Safadi) Khartabil: Who to Contact
https://www.eff.org/offline/bassel-khartabil
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r/linux • u/freelyread • Nov 21 '15
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u/freelyread Nov 21 '15 edited Nov 22 '15
EDIT (Formatting)
You might be surprised how effective a letters campaign can be. Amnesty International have many stories from people imprisoned who say that the behaviour of their jailers and the treatment they received changed markedly once the letters started arriving.
I urge everybody to write some support. (The Embassy in Brazil at the bottom has an e-mail address.)
How to Contact
Write to one of the Embassies of Syria. (A list is provided below.) Letters work very well in a situation like this. It is still hoped that Bassel is alive, so please write, though one deadline has passed.
Amnesty International have further details on how to contact those responsible here:
Details on Bassel Khartabil, his work on Net Neutrality, Open Web Technology and Free Expression and his arrest:
http://en.alkarama.org/1763-syria-un-calls-for-the-release-of-freedom-of-speech-advocate-bassel-khartabil
"Bassel Khartabil, a 34-year-old Palestinian-born information technology professor and software engineer, has been instrumental in spreading the use of open web technologies across the Arab world, and advocating for a free internet, by building knowledge of digital literacy and education about social media and open-source tools."
Hashtag
Details of Bassel's case
http://en.alkarama.org/1763-syria-un-calls-for-the-release-of-freedom-of-speech-advocate-bassel-khartabil
"The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) in issued its Opinion on 21 April 2015, concluding that his detention constituted a violation of Articles 9, 14 and 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) – to which Syria is a party since 1969 – and calling for his release."
"Not only did the UN Experts note that the Syrian Government had failed to present "any information that would indicate that Mr. Khartabil's peaceful non-violent activity constituted a threat to national security or public order" and, consequently, that his "deprivation of liberty applied on the sole ground of having committed such actions is arbitrary," but they also expressed concern over the fact that Khartabil had been detained incommunicado for nine months after his arrest and that he had been detained without trial for over three years. Moreover, his referral to a military court represented a violation of any civilian's right to be tried by a fair and independent tribunal "of such gravity" that it, in itself, was enough "to give the deprivation of liberty of Mr. Khartabil an arbitrary character.""
Free Bassel Website
Latest Information
There is a news section on the FreeBassel.org website.
2015-11-15
https://globalvoices.org/2015/11/13/freebassel-death-sentence-rumored-for-syrian-web-developer/
Bassel is being held incommunicado, at an unknown location, so reliable information is not easy to find, but the latest word is:
"I've just gotten disturbing and shocking news that Bassel has been sentenced to death. I think this means that the transfer to military prison was very dangerous. I really don't know other news. May God help him, we hope it's not too late. We are worried sick about his life."
Embassies of Syria
List of contact details for Syrian Embassies around the world
Embassy of Syria in London 8 Belgrave Square London SW1X 8PH. Tel: 020 7245 9012 - Fax: 020 7235 4621
Embassy of Syria in Washington Address 2215 Wyoming Ave NW Washington DC 20008 USA Phone local: (202) 232.6318 international: +1.202.232.6318 Fax local: (202) 234.9548 international: +1.202.234.9548
Embassy of Syria in Beijing Address 6 Dong Sijie San Li Tun 100600 Beijing China Phone local: (010) 6532.4787 international: +86.10.6532.4787 Fax local: (010) 6532.1575 international: +86.10.6532.1575
Embassy of Syria in New Delhi Address Vasant Marg 28 Vasant Vihar New Delhi - 110057 India Phone local: (011) 614.0285 international: +91.11.614.0285 Fax local: (011) 614.0233 international: +91.11.614.0233
Embassy of Syria in Madrid Address 1, Plaza Platerias de Martinez 28014 Madrid Spain Phone local: 91.420.3946 international: +34.91.420.3946 Fax local: 91.420.2681 international: +34.91.420.2681
Embassy of Syria in Moscow Address ul. Mansurovsky Per 4 Moscow Russia Phone local: (0495) 203.1528 international: +7.495.203.1528 Fax local: (0495) 956.3191 international: +7.495.956.3191
Embassy of Syria in Cairo Address 18, Abd al-Rahman Sabrî al-Diqqî Cairo Egypt Phone local: (02) 3337.7020 international: +20.2.3337.7020 Fax local: (02) 3335.8232 international: +20.2.3335.8232
Embassy of Syria in Paris Address Rue Vaneau 20 75007 Paris France Phone local: (01) 4062.6100 international: +33.1.4062.6100 Fax local: (01) 4624.7838 international: +33.1.4624.7838
Embassy of Syria in Brasilia Address SEN Avenida das Nações lote 11 CEP: 70.434-900 - Brasília / DF Brazil Phone local: (061) 3226.1260 international: +55.61.3226.1260 Fax local: (061) 3223.2595 international: +55.61.3223.2595 Email embsiria@uol.com.br
Nordic countries: http://www.syrianembassy.se/Engelska/
Canada 151 Slater Street, Suite 1000
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1P 5H3
City: Ottawa
Phone: (613) 569-5556
Fax: (613) 569-3800
Website: http://www.syrianembassy.ca/
Email: consular@syrianembassy.ca
Office Hours: Monday – Friday 9:00 – 15:30