We issue this statement in view of the tragedies the county is facing, and in view of the killing and bloodshed. We issue this statement in view of the cities under siege, and in view of the fact that the military forces have strayed from their mission to become tools that kill civilians and siege cities. We issue this statement in view of the constitutional and legal violations, crimes against humanity, and the clear message expressed by the free and independent lawyers of Syria.
The Syrian Bar Association long represented the regime and its security forces without commentary on Syrian society or its rights, and without invoking the legal immunities of lawyers.
Today, as the people of Syria demand freedom and justice, and are prepared to give their souls to achieve their demands, lawyers pledge to protect the citizens of Syria to the best of their ability, and to offer what they can as a means of allowing Syrians to achieve their objectives.
Therefore, the Committee of Free Syrian Lawyers calls on our colleagues across Syria, from all provinces, to conduct a sit-in their respective branches of the Bar Association on Monday, August 22, 2011, at 12:00 noon. This call is in accordance with our founding statement and in alignment with the Revolution, supported by every element of Syrian society in the pursuit of freedom and leading to the establishment of a pluralistic and civil democracy.
The goals of the sit-in are as follows:
To achieve the complete independence of the Syrian Bar Association and the abolition of all affiliation to the Baath Party.
To respect lawyers’ immunity and to protest the abuses committed by the regime and its security apparatus, including attacking opposition lawyers, desecrating the halls of the courts, and detaining independent lawyers simply for exercising the universal right of peaceful expression of opinion.
Further, to protest the abusive disciplinary procedures that have been taken arbitrarily by the officers of various union branches who are more aligned with the security forces in their decisions.
To condemn the targeted killing of peaceful demonstrators by the regime and its Shabbiha, the besieging and storming of Syrian cities one after the other by the security forces and some military officers who are involved with them, and for committing some of the most heinous crimes against the Syrian people.
While the Committee calls upon all colleagues to heed this call for a sit-in, it again reaffirms the need for all honest lawyers to concentrate their efforts to achieve the objectives of the Syrian Revolution in freedom, justice, and dignity, and to put themselves at the Revolution’s service as messengers of truth and justice. Long live Syria, free and democratic.
18-8-2011 Syrian Lawyers for Freedom
