At the heart of any state that claims to respect human rights lies the family's right to know the fate of their loved ones—an absolute and non-negotiable right. But in our country, this fundamental right seems to have suddenly been transformed into a digital trap, threatening its holders with imprisonment and fines.
The question that should shake the foundations of official institutions, especially the Ministry of Justice, is: On what specific legal article did you base the classification of publishing a document concerning the fate of a detainee or missing person as a "cybercrime"?
When a reputable media outlet or a grieving family publishes an official document—be it an execution order, a harsh sentence, or proof of existence—they are not committing a crime, but rather exercising their last remaining right to protest and reveal the truth. Yet, it seems the legal system is more interested in prosecuting and criminalizing families who publish these documents than in holding accountable those responsible for concealing the fate of these individuals.
Will a mother who publishes a photo of her son's execution order be prosecuted? Or the journalist who published the names of the bodies in the Al-Mujtahid Hospital morgue in 2014 was imprisoned! This question isn't hypothetical; it's a dangerous indicator of a reversal of priorities: instead of opening the doors to transparency, they are being slammed shut with "Beware of the law."
Closed Doors and Silent Funding
It's infuriating to see the doors completely shut to families searching for a glimmer of hope or official information about the fate of their loved ones. Where are the state's responsibilities towards these citizens?
Amid this shameful official silence, another poignant question arises: What is the role of civil society organizations that receive millions in European funding specifically to help these families? Why do these organizations remain silent, or content themselves with "silent documentation" without publicly and effectively publishing this data and information, given that the substantial funding is intended for disclosure and accountability?
The ministries' silence on providing clarification, and the organizations' silence on publishing, creates an environment of deliberate obfuscation that serves the interests of concealing the truth and reduces human suffering to a mere statistic in an internal report.
It is time for the Ministry of Justice to stop terrorizing the families of the victims and answer clearly: Is your goal to reveal the fate or to criminalize the publishers?
Hussain Al-Shishakli
Zaman Al Wasl
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