Wednesday, 06 June 2012

Mystery shrouds whereabouts of three female detainees in Syria

Reports of torture of three female Syrian activists arrested for protesting raised concerns across the country.Noran al-Ghamian, 20, her mother Lina Mahayni, 52, and Nagat Murshid, 57, were arrested on May 27 while taking part in a protest to condemn the al-Houla massacre. Osama Murshid, the third woman’s son, was also arrested with them. There is no information on their whereabouts since and reports of them being tortured in detention have been circulating since. Nagat Murshid, who is well known in the capital Damascus, worked as a teacher for more than 30 years and enjoys a good reputation in the education sector. She has never been a member of any political organization inside or outside Syria and is mostly known for her community work with the Syrian Red Crescent and several charity organizations that combat poverty.News of Murshid’s arrest sent shock waves across Damascus, especially since she was not the one meant to be arrested initially. According to eyewitnesses, security forces first arrested Nagat’s son Osama and when she ran towards him in an attempt to take him away, they took her too. Noran al-Ghamian is the sister of prominent Syrian activist Marwa al-Ghamian, who was among the first to take to streets and protest against the regime in February 2011.Human rights organizations in Syria called for the release of the four detainees.