Omar Abdullah, known as ‘Omar Deir Mama’, the head of the Misyaf News Network, from Deir Mama village (administratively a part of Misyaf city) in the western suburbs of Hama governorate, was arrested on April 27, 2023, by Syrian regime forces over voicing criticism of the living conditions and corruption in the areas under the control of the Syrian regime on the Misyaf News Facebook page. He was taken to an undisclosed location.
Omar faces charges under 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 (SNHR) notes that these charges rely on the use of deliberately vague phrasing to enable the Syrian regime to level them against anyone it wishes to arrest, torture, and prosecute due to their 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 of oppression 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.
