SoylentNews

-- OriginalOwner_ writes:

Amnesty International reports

Extrajudicial execution of Bassel Khartabil a grim reminder of Syrian prison horrors

[...] Bassel Khartabil, was born and raised in Syria to a Palestinian family. He worked as a software developer and was a prominent free speech activist. Before his arrest, Bassel Khartabil used his technical expertise to help advance freedom of speech and access to information via the internet. He has won many awards, including the 2013 Index on Censorship Digital Freedom Award for using technology to promote an open and free internet, and was named one of Foreign Policy magazine's Top 100 Global Thinkers of 2012 "for insisting, against all odds, on a peaceful Syrian revolution".

[...] Bassel was arrested on 15 March 2012 by the Syrian Military Intelligence and held in incommunicado detention for eight months before being moved to 'Adra prison in December 2012. He remained in 'Adra until 3 October 2015, when he managed to inform his family that he was being transferred to an undisclosed location. Since then, his whereabouts remained unknown.

[...] Bassel Khartabil's family announced his death on 1 August 2017 after receiving information that he was killed in 2015 after allegedly being "tried" and "sentenced to death" by the military field court in Al-Qaboun, Damascus in a secret hearing. These courts are notorious for conducting closed-door proceedings that do not meet the minimum international standards for a fair trial.

[...] Responding to news of the execution of Syrian-Palestinian human rights activist Bassel Khartabil today, Anna Neistat, Amnesty International's Senior Director of Research said:

"We are deeply saddened and outraged at this awful news. Bassel Khartabil will always be remembered as a symbol of courage, who peacefully fought for freedom to the very end. Our thoughts are with his family.

"Bassel Khartabil's death is a grim reminder of the horrors that take place in Syrian prisons every day. The tens of thousands of people currently locked away inside Syrian government detention facilities face torture, ill-treatment and extra-judicial executions. These cruel acts undoubtedly amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity."

Al Jazeera adds

[About] her husband's death [...] Noura Ghazi Safadi wrote [...]

"Today, I announce in my name, the name of Bassel's family and my family, the confirmation that the order to execute my husband Bassel Khartabil was carried out days after he was moved to the Adra prison in October 2015."

She did not indicate how she was able to confirm his death.

The computer engineer, also known as Bassel Sadafi and credited with "vastly extending online access and knowledge to the Syrian people", was detained on the first anniversary of the 2011 uprising in Syria.

He was routinely denied access to his family and lawyers, rights groups and his wife said.

He disappeared from official records in October 2015 when he was transferred from the Adra prison in northeast Damascus.

[...] Khartabil was hailed for his contributions to the open web.

He was the co-founder of Damascus' Aiki Lab, a collaborative online community in Syria, was a regular contributor to Wikipedia, and worked as the Syria lead for Creative Commons, an organisation that aims to make creative content available for others to legally share and build upon.

"We are deeply saddened and completely outraged to learn today that our friend and colleague Bassel Khartabil has been executed by the Syrian regime," Creative Commons said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Creative Commons, and the global commons of art, history, and knowledge, are stronger because of Bassel's contributions, and our community is better because of his work and his friendship."

Previously: https://soylentnews.org/article.pl?sid=15/10/09/1614214

Original Submission