A failed asylum-seeker has been 'unfairly sentenced' to 12 years' jail in Syria after being forcibly returned from the UK, according to Amnesty International.
Muhammad Osama Sayes, 30, was jailed on 25 June after he was convicted of belonging to the banned Muslim Brotherhood. Amnesty said Sayes was tried by the 'notoriously unfair' Supreme State Security Court, whose trials fall short of international standards.
'It's appalling that this man has been jailed for 12 years just for expressing his political beliefs,' said Amnesty's UK campaigns director, Tim Hancock. 'This is a glaring example of what happens when countries like the UK fail to offer protection to asylum-seekers: incommunicado detention, unfair trials, draconian jail sentences and a real risk of torture.' |