Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-06-13-Speech-4-206"

Predicate	Value (sorted: default)
rdf:type	lpv_eu:Speech2
dcterms:Date	"2002-06-13"^^xsd:date2
dcterms:Is Part Of	lp_eu:Human rights2
dcterms:Language	"it"^^xsd:language2
lpv:document identification number	"en.20020613.8.4-206"2
lpv:hasSubsequent	lp_eu:2002-06-13-Speech-4-2072
lpv:speaker	lp:Demetrio Volcic2
lpv:spokenAs	unknown; Democratici di Sinistra (1999-07-20--2004-07-19)3 member; PES (1999-07-20--2004-07-19)3 member; Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy (2002-01-17--2004-07-19)3 vice-chair; Delegation to the EU-Armenia, EU-Azerbaijan and EU-Georgia Parliamentary Cooperation Committees (2002-02-07--2004-07-19)3
lpv:translated text	"Mr President, I will start with an individual case. After spending 18 years in prison for crimes of opinion, the lawyer, Riad al-Turk, was released in 1998. In recent months, he has been imprisoned anew, also for crimes of opinion. The trial is in progress and the defendant is in danger of being sentenced to 15 years. All this is happening in Syria, where, despite the hopes of renewal raised by the new president, Bashir al-Assad, I regret to say that there has been absolutely no increase in consideration for freedoms. Let me tell you about Riad al-Turk, a political opposition leader who has paid an extremely high price for defending his ideals. The lawyer, now an elderly man in poor health – and we can imagine what it means to spend 20 years in prison in that country – has suffered a deterioration of his health in recent months, since he was arrested again. He is not a familiar face in the West, for he has never tried to claim that his is a special case. He has displayed great dignity throughout his life and he was not even allowed books in prison. In order not to lose all sense of time and reality, he tried to survive and to preserve his concentration by drawing with small stones that he found in his cell. Among those in prison with him are two members of the Syrian parliament, who are being detained on the same charge. These are their crimes: taking part in political meetings not authorised by the regime. We are scrutinising a key country in the region with interest and we hope that the association agreement being negotiated by the Commission will be concluded. Clearly, however, respect for human rights is an essential condition of these agreements. We therefore expect the European Commission’s negotiators to take a firm stand on the case of the elderly lawyer, Riad al-Turk, as well. It is impossible to put this matter down to cultural diversity: these are basic conditions which a State founded on the rule of law must respect."@en1

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