Human Rights Activists were shocked about the news regarding the kidnapping of Lawyer and Human Rights Activist Razan Zaitouneh, and three of her colleagues working in the same field. Their names are: Human Rights Activist Samira Alkhalil, Mr. Wael Hamada; he is Razan’s husband, and Lawyer Nazem Al-Hamidi. A masked and armed group kidnapped them from the Office of Violations Documentations Centre in the city of Doma, where our colleagues were working (the armed group are unknown at the moment of issuing this statement).
As known, kidnapping in general is prohibited in International Humanitarian Law and Customary International Human Rights Law; which is a binding law, so it is considered a war crime Their perpetrators must be pursued and held accountable.
In the case of Human Rights Defenders, this is a more egregious violation regarding their value and special care.
Syrian Network for Human Rights expresses strong condemnation over the inhuman terrorist act of kidnapping, and stand by the abducted colleagues in their Rights Journey.
The National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces and the Supreme Military Council should take their responsibilities in this regard, where the kidnapping incident has occurred in an area outside the regime’s control.
They should start a quick investigation, and follow up the case to the highest levels. First: to do everything possible to release them. Second: hold perpetrators accountable to deter them, because it forms additional risk if we add it to the violations committed by the Syrian regime against human rights defenders, and these seriously threaten the documentation process in Syria.
