The Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV) learnt today that the deputy
chairperson of the Syrian Kurdish Azadi Party, Mustafa Jum´a, was
arrested last Tuesday (6.1.) by Syrian security forces after a trial in
Aleppo. The Kurdish politician had been summoned to appear before the
military secret service. According to reports from his party the 62-year
old father was transferred to Damascus last Saturday. He is being held
at present by the military secret service in the so-called Fir´a
Vilistin near the Syrian capital.
Mustafa Jum´a was born in the north-Syrian department of Aleppo in the
district of Kobane (Ain-al-Arab) and is the father of twelve children.
The Azadi Party is one of the four organisations in the so-called
Kurdish Democratic Alliance (KDA). The KDA works with peaceful means for
the human rights of Kurds in cooperation with the Arab Syrian opposition
parties for a democratisation of the country.
The GfbV is writing today to all EU embassies in the Syrian capital with
the request that they speak up for the immediate release of Mustafa Jum´a.
In Syria about 150 Kurds are being held in prison as political
prisoners. The GfbV has the names of 98 of them. The approximately two
million Syrian Kurds, who make up the majority of the population in the
three regions on the border between Syria and Turkey, are being
discriminated or suppressed. Their rights to their language and culture
are being denied. In 1962 in the general process of Arabicisation the
Syrian citizenship of 300,000 Kurds was withdrawn. The GfbV has always
called for the restoration of their rights as Syrian citizens.
If you have questions, please approach the GfbV Near-east consultant,
Dr. Kamal Sido, at tel. ++49 (0)173 67 33 980.
>>>>>>>>>>>>> Für Menschenrechte. Weltweit. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Gesellschaft für bedrohte Völker / Society for Threatened Peoples
P.O. Box 20 24 – D-37010 Göttingen/Germany
Nahostreferat/ Middle East Desk
Dr. Kamal Sido – Tel: +49 (0) 551 49906-18 – Fax: +49 (0) 551 58028
E-Mail: [email protected] – www.gfbv.de
