Geneva - The fate of Emirati dissident Jassem bin Rashid alShamsi is deeply concerning following his arrest and enforced disappearance by Syrian security services, amid serious fears of his transfer to the UAE, where he faces unjust life sentences for his peaceful political activism.
Syrian security services arrested al-Shamsi on 6 November at a checkpoint in Rif Dimashq and transferred him to the Political Security Directorate headquarters in Al Fayhaa, Damascus. All contact with him has since ceased, and the authorities continue to withhold any information about his place of detention, fate, or legal status.
Syrian authorities' refusal to disclose the whereabouts or legal status of al-Shamsi, and the denial of any contact with his family or chosen lawyer, place him outside the protection of the law and meet the definition of enforced disappearance under the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, constituting a serious violation of due process guarantees.
Euro Med Monitor followed up on the testimony of al-Shamsi's wife, Raghda Kiwan, who said she was with her husband when he was stopped at a security checkpoint on the southern highway in Rif Dimashq and accompanied him during his transfer to the Political Security headquarters in Al Fayhaa, before being ordered to leave and told that his detention would be brief and temporary.
According to Kiwan, security personnel gave no clear reason for her husband's detention and later denied that he was being held at any security facility. Despite her near-daily visits to security branches and prisons and repeated contact with Interior Ministry officials, all efforts to determine his whereabouts or fate have failed, and she has received no information about him to date.
She said her husband entered Syria with her and their children in January under a Turkish residence permit, following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, and completed all required procedures to regularise his legal status. She stressed that their stay in the country is fully legal and that his enforced disappearance cannot be linked to their residency status.
The Emirati dissident is a victim of politically motivated mass trials in the UAE. In July 2024, he was sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment in the UAE84 case, in which many activists were charged with terrorism-related offences over their peaceful activism. He had previously been sentenced to 15 years in prison in July 2013 in the UAE94 case for peacefully calling for reform.
Al-Shamsi's detention in Syria was marked by serious violations, as he was arrested without a warrant or formal charges and without respect for due process guarantees, in clear breach of Article 18 of the Syrian Constitutional Declaration issued in March 2025, which states that "except in cases of flagrante delicto, no person may be arrested, detained or have their liberty restricted except by judicial decision."
Syria's actions in this case violate its obligations under international human rights law as a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, particularly Article 9, as well as Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and established customary rules. These prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention and require that detainees be informed of the reasons for their arrest and be enabled to challenge the legality of their detention before an independent judicial authority.
The Syrian authorities' insistence on holding al-Shamsi in total isolation, coupled with their continued refusal to disclose his whereabouts or legal status, gravely heightens the risks to his safety and creates a direct environment for further serious violations, including the initiation of unlawful transfer or extradition to a country where he faces a real risk of torture, inhuman treatment, or arbitrary detention.
The UAE's long record of abuses against peaceful dissidents and reliance on unfair trials devoid of basic guarantees of justice make any move to extradite al-Shamsi an action taken with full knowledge of the risks and expose the Syrian authorities to potential legal liability for contributing to those violations.
In the post-transition period following the overthrow of the previous regime, the new Syrian government is obliged to break with decades of enforced disappearance and arbitrary extradition. The continuation of these practices raises serious concerns about the persistence of past patterns of abuse rather than a genuine transition towards justice and the rule of law. It signals a troubling regression from the human rights principles meant to guide this new phase.
The detention and disappearance of al-Shamsi in Syria constitute a direct violation of binding international standards, including the absolute prohibition of enforced disappearance under the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and customary international law. They also breach Syria's obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention against Torture, particularly the prohibitions of arbitrary arrest, torture, and placing individuals outside the protection of the law, as well as the principle of non-refoulement under Article 3 of the Convention against Torture. The available information makes any attempt to transfer him to the UAE legally prohibited due to the grave risks to his physical and legal safety.
Syrian authorities must immediately release Jassem al-Shamsi and end his arbitrary detention and placement outside the protection of the law. If a legal basis for his detention is claimed, he must be brought without delay before a competent and independent judicial authority to review the legality of his detention in line with international fair trial standards.
Euro Med Monitor urges the Syrian authorities to immediately disclose al-Shamsi's fate and place of detention, ensure his physical and legal safety, enable prompt contact with his family and lawyer, and open a serious investigation into the circumstances of his arrest and disappearance. It also calls on the authorities to refrain from any measure that could lead to his transfer or extradition to a country where he faces a risk of persecution, torture, or inhuman treatment, and to strictly uphold the principle of non-refoulement and the international human rights framework.
The UAE government must end the persecution of Jassem al-Shamsi and other peaceful political opponents, refrain from seeking extradition or cooperating with foreign authorities in ways that expose them to arrest, torture, or unfair trial, annul the in absentia sentences issued against him in the UAE84 and UAE94 cases and all convictions based on peaceful political activity, release all prisoners of conscience, and bring its legislation and security practices into line with its international human rights obligations, including guaranteeing fair trials and respecting freedom of opinion, expression, and peaceful political action.
Relevant UN and international human rights bodies, including the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Committee on Enforced Disappearances, and the Special Rapporteur on Enforced Disappearances, must urgently address the Syrian and Emirati authorities to seek official information on al-Shamsi's fate and place of detention. They should activate their urgent communications, special procedures, and Human Rights Council mechanisms to press for his release and non-extradition, ensure both states' compliance with their international obligations, and guarantee the protection of his life, physical and legal safety, and fundamental rights.
