Syrian Organization for Human Rights (SWASIAH)

Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person
(Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression and this right includes freedom to embrace opinions without interference and to seek and impart information and ideas, receive and impart to others through any media and regardless of frontiers.
(Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Everyone has the right not be the arrested or arbitrary detained
(Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Statement

Death penalty is the harshest that could affect the physical integrity of a human being. It violates the right to life, one of the most sacred rights in a society where life has a value and human dignity a meaning. Unfortunately, humanity did not reach to crystallize a radical position vis-a-vis the death penalty, as this position remains highly segmented.

Death penalty is a retaliatory, final and irreversible punishment based on a punitive policy aiming at causing pain and depriving of life. It is a punishment that deprives the human being from his right to life and no error could be rectified after the sentence is carried out.

Abolishing death penalty would allow in the future avoiding the possible judicial errors that could lead to irreversible consequences, like that of death, while disregarding judicial rulings and decisions that grant amnesty. Moreover, abolishing death penalty in the future could bring convicts to face disciplinary and rehabilitative measures that could rectify their reintegration into society. This being in the best interest of humanity, requires rethinking a more civilized penal policies based on rehabilitation.

Combating crime, even its worse scenarios, by resorting to death penalty comes from primitive intellectual and ideological basis, due to its bloody violence and its impact of absolute fear to achieve deterrence. It has also been proven in practice that death penalty doesn’t play a role in deterring people from committing crimes, as the criminal once executed is rapidly forgotten.

In preserving life and physical integrity of each human being, even that of a criminal, what’s more noble is respecting the humanness of the human being and the sense of hope of him reintegrating the society safe and sound.

The Syrian Organization for Human Rights Sawasyah expresses its sorrow and pain for the thousands of Syrians who were killed illegally during the past few months. Our organization also believes that the respect of the right to life is proportional to the prevailing legitimacy of states.

As long as the political regime is oppressive and constraining, it continues at targeting political opponents aiming to get rid of them. It becomes even more terrible when the judiciary system is used for liquidation and political oppression. However, a legitimate, stable, civilized and civil political regime based on the free will of people, respects and preserves more the right to life.

The Syrian Organization for Human Rights reminds that it encourages and supports all efforts to ban death penalty, including the degrading treatment, torture and inhuman detention conditions to which detainees are exposed prior to their executions. The Syrian Organization for Human Rights highlights that such situations were often documented by local, regional and international Human Rights organizations in Syria, during the past seven months.

Board of Directors

10/10/2011