Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
The UK based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) is an information office opposed to the Government of Syria. There was conflict between Rami Abdulrahman,[1] a Syrian expatriate, and Mousab Azzawi about who rightfully ran the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.[2][3] Abdulrahman's UK based SOHR has been cited by virtually every western news outlet since the beginning of the uprising.[1][3]
The UK based SOHR is run out of a two-bedroom terraced home in Coventry, UK, by one person, Rami Abdulrahman (or Rami Abdul Rahman, or Rami Abdelrahman),[4] a Syrian Sunni Muslim who also runs a clothes shop. After three spells in prison in Syria, Abdulrahman came to Britain in 2000 fearing a longer, fourth jail term.[1]
In a December 2011 interview with Reuters, Abdulrahman said the observatory has a network of 200 people and that six of his sources had been killed. Abdulrahman reports on events in the Syrian uprising, including the deaths of civilians, rebels and army defectors (which he calls "martyrs")[5] and government soldiers.[6] SOHR's methodology for counting civilian victims has been questioned,[7] as the organisation includes opposition combatants among the number of civilian casualties, as long as these are not former members of the military.[8]
Rival claims to the name[edit]
The website Syriahr.org claimed that Rami Abdulrahman was in fact called Osama Ali Suleiman and he merely used the name Rami Abdulrahman, a pen-name that the website claimed to have been initially used by all "SOHR members".[9] Syriahr.org claimed that Abdulrahman was able to wrest control of the SOHR website Syriahr.net in August 2011 by changing all the passwords and that he proceeded to make himself the chairman of the SOHR, upon which an organisation claiming to be the 'real' SOHR created the rival website Syriahr.org.[9] This new website Syriahr.org then proceeded to launch a smear campaign against Abdulrahman, claiming he only had a "very modest level of education", condemning his "lack of professionalism" and even alleging that he is a member of the Kurdistan Workers' Party.[2][9][10]
Abdulrahman, meanwhile, says the new site Syriahr.org is run by Mousab Azzawi, who used to translate for the SOHR[3] but was fired after falsely claiming to be an official spokesman for the organisation and calling for foreign intervention in Syria.[2] The SOHR which was run by Mousab Azzawi had stated that they consider reporting on the deaths of government soldiers to be "not in their interest".[2][3] Since the early conflict, it appears that Azzawi's Syriahr.org is inactive and has adopted the name Syrian Network for Human Rights with a website Syrianhr.org whereas Abdulrahman's group continue to use the sites Syriahr.net (Arabic version) or Syriahr.com/en (English version).
References[edit]
- ^ a b c Abbas, Mohammed; Golovnina, Maria (editing) (8 December 2011). "Coventry - an unlikely home to prominent Syria activist". Reuters. Archived from the original on 11 June 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
- ^ a b c d Bennet, Ivor (9 February 2012). "Deaths in Syria: Counting them (politically) correctly". Russia Today. Archived from the original on 11 June 2012. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
- ^ a b c d "Russia questions credibility of Syrian Observatory for Human Rights," RT (25 February 2012). Retrieved 6 May 2013.
- ^ "A Very Busy Man Behind the Syrian Civil War’s Casualty Count". New York Times. 9 April 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
- ^ "26 civilians killed in Syria on Friday: Observatory". The Asian Age. 18 February 2012. Archived from the original on 11 June 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
- ^ "Syrian Observatory for Human Rights". Syriahr.com. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
- ^ Patrick Henningsen, "Re-writing legal language and political nudging – new US strategy for Syria," RT (3 May 2013). Retrieved 6 May 2013.
- ^ Al-Gharbi, M. (2013). "Syria Contextualized: The Numbers Game". Middle East Policy 20: 56–67. doi:10.1111/mepo.12003.
- ^ a b c "Important Letter from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights about Rami Abdul Rahman".
- ^ "The Syrian Observatory: The Inside Story". Al Akhbar. 26 January 2012. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
External links[edit]
- Syrian Observatory for Human Rights - original website
- Syrian Observatory for Human Rights - website created in August 2011 after the alleged expulsion of Abdulrahman
- "Human Rights Day – Highlighting Syrian Observatory founder and director Rami Abdurrahman," Support Kurds in Syria (SKS) (supportkurds.org) (10 December 2011). Source: Mohammed Abbas, “Coventry - an unlikely home to prominent Syria activist,” Reuters (8 December 2011) with a SKS comment. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
