Jamaal Al- Wahsh, son of the Palestanian martyr Ali Wahsh, who the street in Hijjrah near Sayyida Zainab region was named after; Shaheed Ali Wahsh, a sunni married to a shi’a woman from Lebanon. They have mature children. He’s been living among his 2 brothers and relatives who have joined the rebels. However, he has some tendency towards the Shi’a people and feels their suffering from the FSA militia. During the current crisis when some shi’a families were  displaced, he did his best to help protect them and their properties, while protesting against his brothers and relatives when terrorizing shi’as living in their area .

On the 1^st of Sept. 2012, I read on the rebels’ web pages that they severely killed a person called (Jamaal Al-wahsh) as being working against the revolution, although he was the son of their role model. At that time I hadn’t known him yet. So the story passed easily.  

On the 3^rd of Sept. 2012, I was called by the lady who was working with me in the humanitarian relief project, asking me to come for an urgent case needing immediate help and accommodation. When I went east of the Haram, I found a woman seems to be miserable with her elder son (about 25 years old). When I asked, they replied that their father had been killed by the rebels before 3 days and they fled away carrying nothing with them. I had to register their father’s name. To my surprise when I asked, they said “Jamaal Al-Wahsh”. So I was curious to know the whole story, and they narrated the above story that he has been murdered severely by his 2 brothers and relatives as he was helping the Shi’a displaced people and nothing more than that. So we did the duty towards them.

Qasim-Syria

Shia Rights Watch calls all sides in Syria to avoid and spare unarmed civilians from the ongoing bloody conflict and to show more commitment to the laws of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Geneva Convention.
SRW also stresses that these laws have granted the protection of the life of civilian persons in time of war and moreover criminalize those who target civilians’ dignity, life, security or who torture them and cause them physical and spiritual harm, or who arrest them as hostages.
Shia Rights Watch also alarms that legal and jurisprudential cases will be suited against those found guilty in attacking civilians and violating their human rights, especially since the laws of the Geneva Convention do not abandon the right of chasing criminals over time.
The organization calls for the respect to rights of religious, sectarian and ethnic minorities and to stop attacking them under any proclaims or reasons.

48 Iranian pilgrims were kidnapped on August 4^th, three of which were murdered during an air attack yesterday, Monday the 6^th. Rebel spokesman, Moutassam al-Ahmad, threatened to kill the rest, if the Syrian Army does not stop its resistance.

A bus load of Iranians pilgrims were abducted by gunmen. The pilgrims were returning from the Seyedeh Zeinab’s Shrine in Zeinabia outside of Damascus. They were kidnapped on suspicions of being military personnel.

Sources reveal that many of the so called rebels are in fact Al Qaeda forces who are fighting in the name of  the Free Syrian army.

This anti-Shi’ism extremist group intentionally targets Shia and Alawite populated areas and pilgrims. Many Shia have been kidnapped or murdered in the last several months in Syria.

Shia Rights Watch condemns the act of anti-Shi’ism and asks all parties to stop violence against any minority including Shia in Syria. SRW advocated non-violence since violence cannot be the answer to the disagreements. If revolution is for everyone, why are Shia being targeted?

Washington,DC (July 20, 2012),  According to our sources in Sayedah Zainab, Syria, 10 kilometers outside Damascus, thousands of Shi’a Muslims are in danger of massacre by the Free Syrian Army and groups affiliated with them. Shi’a Rights Watch has learned from many Shi’a Muslims living in the area that the Anti-Shia terrorist have threatened to massacre all the Shi’a in the area unless they flee.

Most of the Shi’a living in the area are refugees from Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and other countries. The Shi’a community there flourished by building hospitals, schools, hotels, and shops. The Shi’as living in and around the area of Damascus have played no part in the ongoing violence that is occurring in Syria between the rebels and the government.

We call on the United Nations, the United States, and members of the United Nations Security Council to immediately interfere to stop the imminent massacre of thousands of innocent Shi’a Muslims living around the holy shrine of the granddaughter of the Prophet Mohamed where a suicide bomber blew up an explosive laden car near the shrine weeks ago killing some and damaging the shrine itself.

The Anti-Shia terrorist armed groups have previously stated their anti-Shi’a positions which led to the killing of dozens of Shi’a including 23 Iraqis killed in the past ten days and the beheading of others. Several Shia scholars where killed including Syrian born Afghan Sayed Naser Alavi, who was killed April 13, 2012 .

We specifically call on Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar to use their influence on the Anti-Shia Terrorist group to stop the massacre of Shi’a Muslims who have no involvement in the conflict between the Syrian government and the rebels. They have played no role in supporting either side.

We call on U.N. observers to travel to the area and prevent the Anti-Shia terrorist and their affiliates from harming innocent Shi’a Muslims and their holy places.

We especially call on the international media and international community to immediately dispatch reporters to the region in order to prevent the ensuing tragedy by gaining international attention.

Threats of genocide have also come from outside Syria from people who fund the Anti-Shia terrorist. A former member of the Kuwaiti Parliament, Osama AlMunawer (Salafi Extremists) has promised to destroy the shrine of Sayedah Zainab, which holds the remains of the granddaughter of Prophet Mohamed. AlMunawer made this statement on his twitter account July 18. The Kuwaiti government is responsible for AlMunawer’s statement as he holds its citizenship. The international community is requested to pressure Kuwait to hold such criminals to account.

We strongly condemn these terrorist actions against the Shi’a community in Syria and call for urgent action for the protection of these communities.