Over 200 Syrian Kurds were arrested in October 1992, many of whom, AI fears, may be prisoners of conscience. Some, such as Mahmoud ‘Ammo, a member of the joint leadership of Kurdish political groups in Syria, were released after a few days. They were reported to have been treated in hospital in al-Qamishli for injuries caused by torture during interrogation. The arrests apparently began after a leaflet was issued by the joint leadership of three Kurdish political groups in Syria on 5 October 1992. The leaflet was issued to mark the 30th anniversary of the introduction of a law which stripped many thousands of Kurds of their Syrian nationality and has since deprived them of all basic civil rights.
