Rami Raul Fetali, a blogger and social activist born in 1977, from Latakia city, was arrested in March 2023 by members of the Syrian regime’s Criminal Security division after being summoned to the local branch in Latakia city over voicing demands to implement the law criminalizing torture in regime-controlled areas on his Facebook page. He was taken to an undisclosed location.
Rami faces a list of charges including “undermining the spirit of the nation”, as well as other charges related to the Counter-Cybercrime Law, which is used by the Syrian regime to justify the arrest of state employees and other citizens for expressing criticism of the poor living conditions in regime-controlled areas.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights notes that these charges rely on the use deliberately vague phrasing to enables the Syrian regime to level them against anyone it wishes to arrest, torture, and prosecute due to its extremely broad nature that can be interpreted in any number of ways. In reality, these laws, which contradict the spirit of the law and of justice, are closer to instruments for the regime’s security authorities . The overwhelming majority of laws issued by the Syrian regime (whether decrees, or laws promulgated through the People’s Assembly which is completely subservient to the regime) explicitly violate international human rights law and alarmingly restrict freedom of expression.
It must be stressed that there is no such thing as freedom of expression for those living under the rule of the Syrian regime’s security apparatus which penetrates every aspect of life. The aim of the Syrian regime and its policies is to silence the people and stop the reporting of developments on the ground, leading to violations that even affect pro-regime individuals, in tandem with the killing, arrest, and disappearance of the vast majority of its opponents in areas under its control. No Syrian will be able to enjoy their most basic rights without a political transition towards democracy and human rights.
