LATEST: Friday Protest in Kafranbel — Solidarity Over Police Killings of Unarmed Africah Americans

This week marked the one-year anniversary of the abduction of four leading human rights activists in Syria: Nazem Hammadi, Wael Hammadeh, Samira Khalil, and Razan Zaitouneh.

On December 9, 2013, the four were seized in Douma, northeast of Syria, by gunmen. No group has ever claimed responsibility for the abductions.

The group was instrumental in the founding and development of the Local Coordination Committees and Violations Documentation Center, front-line organizations for the reporting of protests, attacks, and abuses of civilians in Syria since 2011.

See Syria Spotlight: The Kidnapping of Razan Zaitouneh
Syria Today, Dec 11, 2013: Who Kidnapped Razan Zeitouneh & 3 Other Human Rights Activists?

The #Douma4 campaign is highlighting the case. Specifically, it is asking for pressure on prominent insurgent faction Jaish al-Islam and its leader Zahran Alloush, who is also the military commander of the Islamic Front bloc.

The activists continue to suspect that the faction is responsible for the kidnappings or is protecting the culprits:

We know today with high degree of certainty the multilateral arrangement that was set up for
kidnapping and disappearing the four activists, and we also know a larger number of the names of those who incited that crime, from inside the area and outside the country. And we know with certainty who has all the information about their file, and who used the computers of the four activists. They are partners in the crime by collusion and disguise, in addition to their direct role in the crime of the kidnapping….

The case of the four kidnapped activists is a political and humanitarian just cause. And we will work with all our strength to make it a global issue. We will continue with our partners in Syria and all around the world, to achieve those demands and to tighten the noose around the necks of the offenders.

The US State Department joined in the calls for the “immediate and unconditional release” of the activists:

Razan, like so many Syrians who took to the streets over three years ago to demand freedom and dignity, called for respect for human rights, stopping all torture, and a peaceful end to the conflict. Despite extraordinary risks, courageous Syrians continue their pursuit of peace, justice, and fundamental freedoms.

In October 2013, Zaitouneh highlighted the failure to respond effectively to the Assad regime’s chemical weapons attacks near Damascus, killing up to 2,000 people — deaths documented by the Local Coordination Committees and Violations Documentation Center — two months earlier:

The world goes further in disrespecting the sufferings of the Syrians by awarding the Nobel Peace Prize this year to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. This award shows the West has exchanged its moral ethical obligations for the legal ones.

Meanwhile Assad, the real criminal, is free because no one cares.

Appeals have become useless, as if there is a thick wall preventing all calls from reaching the “civilized” West, a region that continues to chart the future of our revolution as if our citizens and rebels no longer exist, and to turn a deaf ear to the will and aspirations of Syrians who have worked hard to make the revolution happen.

Now, scenarios for Geneva 2 conference are being suggested along with the many leaks about the proposed American and Russian solutions. The Syrian opposition is being pushed to attend and comply.

The West is trying to repeat the Iraqi scenario in Syria in a terrifying, paradoxical way as it refuses to do what it should do under the pretext of not turning Syria into a second Iraq. Yet it practically does nothing but continue to observe the destruction of the Syrian state and society in a way that leaves no space for reconstruction for decades to come, especially with regard to the divided social structures.

Friday Protest in Kafranbel: Solidarity Over Police Killings of Unarmed Africah Americans

The Friday protest in Kafranbel, an iconic part of the Syrian Revolution, expresses solidarity with US protests over unarmed African Americans killed by police officers:

Europe Bans Jet Fuel to Syria From Sunday

The States of the European Union agreed on Friday to ban the export of jet fuel to Syria, citing its use by the Syrian Air Force for indiscriminate attacks against civilians.

The ban also covers finance and insurance for the jet fuel, taking effect from Sunday.

Fuel and additives exclusively used by non-Syrian civilian aircraft landing in Syria are exempt.

It is unclear how much fuel the 28 EU nations export to Syria..

“A significant number of innocent civilians…have died because the Assad regime’s air force has deliberately dropped weapons, including barrel bombs,” Britain’s Middle East Minister Tobias Ellwood said. “This measure will ensure that no EU people or companies will be involved in jet fuel going to Syria. I urge all nations to ban jet fuel going to the Assad regime.”