SYRIA – Fears escalate for safety of human rights lawyer

A leading Syrian human rights lawyer is at grave risk of abuse after apparently being abducted last month, Amnesty International reported. 

Abdullah Al-Khalil, who became head of the local council for al-Raqqa Governorate after armed opposition groups took control in March 2013, was taken by armed individuals as he left his office in al-Ragga along with another man, according to the report from Amnesty International. Ann Harrison, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme, said, ‘Whether the Syrian authorities or local armed groups are behind the incident, the two men are at grave risk of abuse.” 

The lawyer has been arrested several times due to his work defending political prisoners and promoting human rights. He previously fled to Turkey after his family reserved threats, but then returned to Syria without them.