Six years passed, fate of Razan Zaitouna and fellow rights defenders is still unknown

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Syrian human rights organizations demanded to reveal the fate of activists, Razan Zaitouneh, Wael Hamadeh, Samira Al-Khalil, and Nazem Hammadi, known as the “Duma Four” and who were abducted during a raid on the offices of the Violation Documentation Center (VDC) from the eastern enclave of Damascus on December 9, 2013.

The organizations stressed the need to uncover the fate of these activists and to find a solution to the issue of exemption of punishment, in order to build a democratic state based on the separation of powers and the protection of human rights.

After 6 years, no efforts were made to find the four activists, nor to pressure Army of Islam, the party responsible of the security of Eastern Ghouta suburbs, to provide what real information it has on these transgressions.

In the joint statement, the organizations declared that, “With a persistent effort and a refusal to submit to the blackmail and intimidation tactics of the kidnappers, the search for the truth and the pursuit of accountability continue." They urged all parties and governments operating in the area, namely Army of Islam, to provide all the information and testimonies they have on the matter, asserting that the abduction of these human rights activists is part of a major issue of forcibly disappeared people throughout Syria, who are mostly victims of the regime.

The statement concluded by calling on the supporting countries, mainly Turkey, the EU and the USA, to find a political solution, to exert all efforts to reveal the fate of the disappeared, and to include the issue in all negotiations.

Among the organizations that signed the statement are the "Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression, which included Union of Syrian CSOs, the Syrian Journalist Association, Active Watch, Caesar Families Association, Syrians for Truth and Justice, Syrian Women's Network, and the International Federation for Human Rights, Adalah, Syrian Lawyers Association, and Impunity Watch.

Zaman Al Wasl