The Presidency expresses its regret that Anwar al-Bunni, a prominent Syrian human rights defender, was sentenced to five years of detention in Damascus on 24 April 2007 for having disseminated human rights-related material. The European Union is deeply concerned by the repeated harassment of human rights defenders in Syria.
The European Union calls on the Syrian Government to support and give full effect to the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which the UN General Assembly adopted by consensus in December 1998.
The European Union reiterates its commitment to the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the European Council in June 2004.
