Damascus, SANA – The Syrian Arab Republic condemned in the strongest terms the unjust Israeli decision against the Syrian detainee Sudqi al-Maqt, Foreign and Expatriates Ministry said on Wednesday.

“On May 16th, 2017, the Israeli occupation authorities issued 14-year imprisonment sentence against the Dean of Syrian and Arab detainees Sudqi al-Maqt from Majdal Shams town who was re-arrested on February 25th, 2015, after he had served 27 years in continuous imprisonment in the Israeli jails without any legal or moral justifications,” added the Ministry.

It noted that this disgraceful criminal act came within the Israeli occupation authorities’ continued crimes against the Syrian civilians who still suffer under the yoke of the Israeli occupation in the occupied Syrian Golan.

The ministry made clear that the new unjust measure against al-Maqt is meant to punish him for revealing the close relationship between the Israeli occupation and the terrorist organizations in Syria, on the top of which are Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS, indicating that the Israeli courts refused to publish the real causes for arresting al-Maqt and kept all relevant information in a secret file.

It stressed that this act violates the international law, human rights, the international humanitarian law and the UNSC resolution No. 497 which prevents Israeli entity from taking punitive measures against the Syrians in the occupied Syrian Golan.

“Syria reiterates its calls to the UN Secretary General, the UNSC, the Higher Commission for Human Rights and all international humanitarian organizations, including the international Committee of the Red Cross, to force the Israeli authorities to immediately release al-Maqt without any conditions and all Syrian detainees who are arrested in the Israeli jails,” the Ministry added.

It called for implementing provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention and the international humanitarian law on the Arab territories occupied by the Israeli entity, stressing rejection of Israeli mock trials of prisoners.

The Ministry renewed Syria’s solidarity with Syrian and Palestinian detainees who staged a mass hunger strike in the Israeli jails and called for meeting their demands.

It concluded that Syria urges the international community to take legal measures required to release al-Maqt without any condition since the unjust Israeli decision flagrantly contradicts with the rights of Syrians living under the Israeli occupation and the principle of justice which should be preserved in all places and at all times.

R.Raslan/Mazen