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Amnesty supports U.N. ruling on Syria

LONDON, April 3 (UPI) -- A U.N. report confirming the detention of a Syrian human-rights advocate as arbitrary was greeted as welcome news by Amnesty International.

The U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention reported it considers Nizar Ristnawi, a founder of the Arab Organization for Human Rights in Syria, a prisoner of conscience held by Syrian authorities.

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Authorities arrested Ristnawi in April 2005 following conversations on human rights overheard by security and intelligence agents in Syria. He was not informed of his charges or allowed access to legal representation until November of that year.

In 2008 the Syrian Supreme State Security Court convicted him to four years in prison for "spreading false news" and "insulting the president of the (Syrian) Republic."

Amnesty International issued a statement in support of the U.N. decision. "Given the gravity of its non-compliance with international standards for fair trials, Amnesty International continues to call for the SSSC to be fundamentally reformed or abolished," the group said.

In separate cases, Human Rights Watch had last week released a similar condemnation of the Syrian court, and Amnesty raised concerns over the court March 17.

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