Far From Justice - Human Rights Watch

conducted interviews with them over the phone. The fifth defendant answered ourquestions via e-mail.• Indictments used before the SSSC: a Syrian human rights activist provided HumanRights Watch with copies of three indictments of cases before the SSSC. Theseindictments proved helpful in understanding the type of evidence relied on by theSSSC.Human Rights Watch also reviewed previously published studies on the SSSC, as well as anycomments or decisions on the SSSC by UN institutions such as the UN Working Group onArbitrary Detention. 6Most persons interviewed for this report asked Human Rights Watch not to reveal theirnames out of fear that Syrian authorities would harass them or their families, or in the caseof diplomats, cause a backlash against their presence in court. In such cases, Human RightsWatch has not used names but descriptive terms to explain the source (for example,“western diplomat,” “Kurdish activist,” etc.) and initials (for instance, “J.K.”) that do notcorrespond to the interviewees' real names.Despite Human Rights Watch’s best efforts, we were unable to interview Syrian authoritiesfor this report, nor are we able to reflect the Syrian government’s views, as they have failedto reply to our requests for information or interviews. Syrian authorities have denied ourrequests to visit Syria and meet with Syrian officials. We sent a letter to the Syrianambassador to the United States on January 9, 2009 outlining the findings of our report andasking for comments. To date, Human Rights Watch has received no response.6 Razan Zeitouneh, The Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies, “Is There Justice in Exceptional Courts? The SupremeState Security Court as an Example,” April 2007, http://middleeasttransparent.com/article.php3?id_article=1247 (accessedNovember 10, 2008); Amnesty International, “Memorandum on the Supreme State Security Court: A Summary of AmnestyInternational’s Concerns,” AI Index: MDE 24/039/2007, August 2007,http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE24/039/2007/en/769227e8-ce8e-11dc-a98a-359eaace9fe9/mde240392007eng.pdf (accessed November 10, 2008); Human Rights Watch/Middle East, Throwing Away theKey, October 1992, pp. 8-9; Middle East Watch (now Human Rights Watch/MENA), Syria Unmasked: The Suppression ofHuman Rights by the Asad Regime (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1991); Human Rights Watch/Middle East, Syria –ThePrice of Dissent, vol. 7, no. 4, July 1995.9 Human Rights Watch February 2009