Wissam al-Zoughbi was arrested and incarcerated for 11 days before a judge realised that he was innocent and that his only crime was sharing the same name as someone who was wanted by the government.
The day after his release, he went to his job at a government office, but found that the director had suspended him from job. Wissam explained the situation to the director, who promptly promised to write to the National Security Bureau about his case. He did, but the response was negative. Wissam lost his job.
Wissam is one of the 100,000 employees who have been suspended from work without pay because of security instructions, according to sources at the Prime Minister’s Office who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Hashtag Syria spoke to 11 of these employees who were denied the opportunity to return to their jobs. At least four of them were found not guilty. They sued the government and got rulings from a higher court that said they could return to work. However, their bosses would not follow the court orders, but rather continue to obey the security instructions.
All these cases are governed by security circulation number 13 that oblige government entities to seek the security agencies’ approval before the return of any employee who is arrested.
But an administration law attorney, Adnan Rabih, tells Hashtag Syria that this circulation is unconstitutional. It violates Article 51 of the Syrian constitution, which stipulates that any person “is innocent unless convicted with a final court ruling.”
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
