The chairman of the Syrian Lawyers Union, Nizar Ali Assakkef, said that no more then 3 percent of lawyers belonging to the Union in Damascus have been dismissed, adding that the same number were dismissed from the Union's branch in Damascus countryside.
Assakkef said the Union has dismissed a number of lawyers who have left Syria without informing their union branches and that the Union takes action against any lawyer only after evidence has been presented against him, provided either by the general prosecutor, his union branch or the judicial police in his province.
Assakkef explained that the number of lawyers dismissed from the Union's branch in Aleppo reached about 150 lawyers, noting that there were 300 lawyers threatened with dismissal if they did not inform the Union about their location.
The chairman added that the number of lawyers dismissed from the Union's branch in Idlib reached about 150 lawyers, while more than 80 had been dismissed from Daraa. About 100 lawyers were dismissed from Hassakeh, he said, also noting that cases of dismissal are rare in Quneitra. No dismissals have been recorded in Suweida, Lattakia or Tartous.
Assakkef said that some lawyers left Syria without the knowledge of their union branch, and that it is not permissible for a lawyer to leave Syria without informing the Union's branch in his province. When the lawyers do not show commitment to the rules, the union has the right to take any legal action against him. Assakkef insisted that the lawyer is not entitled to leave Syria for more than three months, after receiving the right documents.
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
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