Skip to content
  • Common Currency
  • Campaigns
    • PENWrites
    • Writers at Risk
    • Writers in Residence
    • Free speech in the UK
  • News
  • Events
  • Translation
    • PEN Translates
    • PEN Transmissions
    • International Translation Day
    • The World Bookshelf
      • Books
      • Authors
      • Translators
    • PEN Presents
      • Issues
      • Books
      • Apply to PEN Presents
  • Prizes
    • PEN Pinter Prize
    • PEN Ackerley Prize
    • PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize
  • Donate
  • Join
Home > Campaigns > Syria: Syrian court must free PEN Pinter prize-winner Mazen Darwish

Syria: Syrian court must free PEN Pinter prize-winner Mazen Darwish

Mazen Darwish is the founding president of the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expresssion (SCM). In February 2012 he was arrested, along with bloggers and fellow SCM members Hani Al-Zitani and Hussein Gharir, when their offices were raided by the Syrian security services.

The three men were held without trial until March 2014 when the Anti-Terrorism Court in Damascus presented charges of ‘publicising terrorist acts’ under Article 8 of the 2012 Anti-Terrorism Law, issued by presidential decree. They have never been tried on these charges, and on 9 June 2014 the government issued a general amnesty that should have led to their release. Despite this, Darwish, Al-Zitani and Gharir remain in prison.

According to subpoenas issued by the Anti-Terrorism Court, the three men will appear before the court on 25 March 2015. The hearing has been subjected to repeated delays.

English PEN considers the charges brought against the three men to be deeply flawed. The Anti-Terrorism Law does not meet international standards and allows the government extraordinary leeway to imprison journalists and bloggers reporting in Syria. The men were initially detained despite the absence of an arrest warrant.

Jo Glanville, director of English PEN, said:

Mazen Darwish and his colleagues have been imprisoned for exercising their right to freedom of expression. There is no justification or legal basis for their ongoing detention, which violates the rule of law. We urge the court to order the release Mazen Darwish, Hani Al-Zitani and Hussein Gharir and to guarantee their freedom to write in Syria without fear of further arrest.

The ongoing detention has also been criticised by international bodies. UN General Assembly, in resolution 67/262 of 15 May 15 2013 called for the release of the three men. In January 2014 The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has found that Darwish, Al-Zitani and Gharir were arbritarily detained and called for their immediate release. UN Security Council Resolution 2139, adopted on 22 February 2014, demanded the release of all arbitrarily detained people in Syria.

Join our mailing list

Sign up to receive the latest English PEN news and events.

SIGN UP
  • About
  • Privacy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Partners
  • Outreach
  • Jobs
  • Contact us

With thanks to our Core Funders

©1921 - 2023

English PEN is a company limited by guarantee number 5747142 (England & Wales) and a registered charity, number 1125610.

We use cookies to help us improve your experience on our website. By closing this notification or interacting with the website you agree to our use of cookies. ACCEPT Find out more
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT