Detained rights activist in Syria wins international award
05/01/2008 | 06:09 PM
DUBLIN, Ireland - One of Syria's most prominent pro-democracy activists won an Irish award Thursday for his work trying to promote human rights for prisoners, political parties and journalists in his police-state homeland.
But Anwar al-Bunni has yet to hear of the accolade. The 49-year-old lawyer has been imprisoned since May 2006 after Syrian President Bashar Assad launched a crackdown against opposition voices demanding greater freedoms.
Irish President Mary McAleese presented the annual Front Line Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk to al-Bunni's wife, Ragheda Issa Refki, at a Dublin City Hall ceremony attended by politicians and ambassadors. Refki received two standing ovations, as well as a hug from the Irish head of state.
McAleese said promoting human rights in a one-party state like Syria was "a very, very lonely place. It takes a very, very special person like Anwar al-Bunni to confront the extraordinary range of forces arrayed against him."
She expressed hope that the award would "send a message to his oppressors."
In an interview with The Associated Press, Refki said she did not risk telling her husband he had won the prize during their most recent prison visit a week ago — because a guard, as usual, was standing beside them listening to their conversation. She hopes to tell him of his honor next week.
"It is very important for Anwar's work and sacrifice to be recognized, for him to be seen as a defender of human rights. It will remind the world there are prisoners of conscience in Syria," Refki said through an Arabic translator. "In Syria today there's no freedom of assembly, no freedom of association, and the government is in complete control."
When asked whether she expected the Syrian regime to punish her when she returned to Damascus, Refki offered a resigned shrug.
"This can lead to some problems. I expect to face some kind of questioning or interrogation," said Refki, who lost her civil service job in Syria's Transport Ministry after her husband's arrest. "But if you allow them to silence you, then they have already won."
Four of al-Bunni's brothers also served prison sentences in the 1980s and 1990s for membership in opposition parties, which require a state license to exist in Syria.
Al-Bunni gained prominence in the 1990s by defending opponents of the Syrian regime and helping to organize a group called the Free Political Prisoners Committee. In 2001 he co-founded the Syrian Human Rights Association and, in 2005, founded a media-rights pressure group called Freedom.
In April 2006, al-Bunni reported on a suspected Islamic fundamentalist who died in prison, allegedly from torture, and spoke in support of Kurdish dissidents amid a government crackdown against them.
He was arrested the following month after joining about 500 Syrian and Lebanese intellectuals in signing the so-called "Damascus Declaration," which challenged the Syrian government to improve ties with neighboring Lebanon.
A year after his imprisonment he received a five-year sentence on four counts: spreading false or exaggerated news that could weaken national morale, affiliating with an unlicensed political association of an international nature, discrediting state institutions and contacting a foreign country. He is due for release in May 2011.
Since entering prison al-Bunni has kept promoting political freedom, authoring hypothetical legislative bills that spell out how opposition political parties and elections should be organized.
After their publication, Refki said, guards "confiscated all his writing materials and said he was not permitted to write."
She said her husband is kept in a room with more than 30 other prisoners, among them convicted killers, but is kept separate from any inmates convicted of political offenses.
Front Line is a Dublin-based group founded in 2001 to provide support for human rights activists operating in dangerous situations. Al-Bunni was selected as this year's honoree by a panel of Irish politicians from five political parties. Activists from Brazil, China, Honduras and Indonesia also were nominated. - AP
But Anwar al-Bunni has yet to hear of the accolade. The 49-year-old lawyer has been imprisoned since May 2006 after Syrian President Bashar Assad launched a crackdown against opposition voices demanding greater freedoms.
Irish President Mary McAleese presented the annual Front Line Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk to al-Bunni's wife, Ragheda Issa Refki, at a Dublin City Hall ceremony attended by politicians and ambassadors. Refki received two standing ovations, as well as a hug from the Irish head of state.
McAleese said promoting human rights in a one-party state like Syria was "a very, very lonely place. It takes a very, very special person like Anwar al-Bunni to confront the extraordinary range of forces arrayed against him."
She expressed hope that the award would "send a message to his oppressors."
In an interview with The Associated Press, Refki said she did not risk telling her husband he had won the prize during their most recent prison visit a week ago — because a guard, as usual, was standing beside them listening to their conversation. She hopes to tell him of his honor next week.
"It is very important for Anwar's work and sacrifice to be recognized, for him to be seen as a defender of human rights. It will remind the world there are prisoners of conscience in Syria," Refki said through an Arabic translator. "In Syria today there's no freedom of assembly, no freedom of association, and the government is in complete control."
When asked whether she expected the Syrian regime to punish her when she returned to Damascus, Refki offered a resigned shrug.
"This can lead to some problems. I expect to face some kind of questioning or interrogation," said Refki, who lost her civil service job in Syria's Transport Ministry after her husband's arrest. "But if you allow them to silence you, then they have already won."
Four of al-Bunni's brothers also served prison sentences in the 1980s and 1990s for membership in opposition parties, which require a state license to exist in Syria.
Al-Bunni gained prominence in the 1990s by defending opponents of the Syrian regime and helping to organize a group called the Free Political Prisoners Committee. In 2001 he co-founded the Syrian Human Rights Association and, in 2005, founded a media-rights pressure group called Freedom.
In April 2006, al-Bunni reported on a suspected Islamic fundamentalist who died in prison, allegedly from torture, and spoke in support of Kurdish dissidents amid a government crackdown against them.
He was arrested the following month after joining about 500 Syrian and Lebanese intellectuals in signing the so-called "Damascus Declaration," which challenged the Syrian government to improve ties with neighboring Lebanon.
A year after his imprisonment he received a five-year sentence on four counts: spreading false or exaggerated news that could weaken national morale, affiliating with an unlicensed political association of an international nature, discrediting state institutions and contacting a foreign country. He is due for release in May 2011.
Since entering prison al-Bunni has kept promoting political freedom, authoring hypothetical legislative bills that spell out how opposition political parties and elections should be organized.
After their publication, Refki said, guards "confiscated all his writing materials and said he was not permitted to write."
She said her husband is kept in a room with more than 30 other prisoners, among them convicted killers, but is kept separate from any inmates convicted of political offenses.
Front Line is a Dublin-based group founded in 2001 to provide support for human rights activists operating in dangerous situations. Al-Bunni was selected as this year's honoree by a panel of Irish politicians from five political parties. Activists from Brazil, China, Honduras and Indonesia also were nominated. - AP
