The ICJ and other NGOs condemned the decision of the Damascus Section of the Syrian Bar Association to prohibit lawyer and human rights defender Muhannad Al-Hassani from practicing law for the rest of his life.
Among the grounds upon which the disbarment was ordered was that Muhannad Al-Hassani is “the President of an unauthorised organisation (the Syrian Organization for Human Rights)”.
The above-mentioned organisations called on the Syrian Bar Association to seriously reconsider the charges against Muhannad al-Hassani and the decision to permanently disbar him when it hears the case on appeal.
Syria-Persecution and Intimidation of Lawyers and Human Rights Defenders-Position Papers-2009 (full text, PDF)