Assyrian Democratic Organization ADO
US – AFP — The United States on Friday criticized the Syrian government for what it called harsh sentencing of seven young democrats and sought their immediate and unconditional release.
The seven defendants, in their 20s, were sentenced to between five and seven years in jail for “exposing Syria to acts of aggression,” according to the Syrian National Human Rights Organisation. “The United States condemns the harsh sentencing of seven young civil society activists, several of them university students … by the Syrian government,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.
They were sentenced to prison simply for forming a discussion group and posting their writings on a website, he said. “The unjust sentences reflect the Syrian regimes contempt for fundamental human rights, including freedom of expression and association. They also reflect a legal system devoid of legitimate standards,” he said.
The group was arrested early last year after trying to found a youth association for democracy and pacifism. The charges were brought under state of emergency laws in place in Syria for more than four decades. McCormack alleged that the young “prisoners of conscience” were held incommunicado for months and denied access to their lawyers and families.
The United States called on the Syrian government to “immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners and to observe its obligations under international human rights law,” he said. The United States also remained committed to supporting Syrian citizens in their efforts to build a “less corrupt, more prosperous, and more democratic country,” he said. T
he United States also accuses Syria of aiding anti-US insurgents in Iraq, trying to topple the pro-Western government in Lebanon and backing rejectionist Palestinian groups.
