Rights Groups Urge Syria to Free Lawyer Khalil Maatuq

Rights groups including Amnesty International urged Syrian authorities Tuesday to release human rights lawyer Khalil Maatuq and his assistant, three years after their arrest.

Maatuq and his friend and colleague Mohammed Zaza were detained on October 2, 2012 at a government checkpoint.

Authorities initially denied the arrests, but released prisoners have told Maatuq's family the lawyer has been held at various detention facilities.

Maatuq and Zaza both worked at the Syrian Center for Legal Research and Studies, and rights groups believe they were arrested because of their work defending detainees.

Amnesty and 52 other rights groups from Syria, the region and beyond urged Damascus to release Maatuq and Zaza "immediately and unconditionally." 

They noted that Maatuq suffers from advanced lung disease, adding that "his life may be at risk as he needs medication and medical attention." 

"The Syrian authorities must heed these calls without further delay and release immediately and unconditionally Khalil Maatuq and Mohammed Zaza as well as all others detained solely for the peaceful exercise of their human rights," the group said.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, some 200,000 people are being held by the government in detention centers, prisons and security facilities.

Nearly 13,000 Syrians, including dozens of children, have been tortured to death in government prison since an uprising against President Bashar Assad began in March 2011, the Observatory said.