Marisa Matias made thursday a speech before de European Parliament plenary defending the Syrian lawyer and human rights activist Haitham al-Maleh, 80 years old, detained by the Damascus authorities for allegedly "weakening national feelings of his country."

Beyond this decision related with al-Maleh, the Portuguese MEP elected by the Left Bloc stressed that the situation of other Syrian detainees "for similar reasons, the" restrictions of freedom of movement and arbitrary actions taken by the Syrian authorities are practices contradicting the important role of Syria in the region and do not reflect the efforts being developed in this country to improve its social situation. " Furthermore, she stressed that the situation of Haitham al-Maleh violates numerous international treaties and conventions and Syrian own legislation, "which stipulates that military tribunals have no jurisdiction to try civilians.
Marisa Matias said that remember al-Maleh issue in Parliament is inseparable from other human rights subjects dealt with during this week in Strasbourg: the rejection of death sentence - now suspended – against the Iranian citizen Askineh Ashtiani, and the condemnation of the expulsions of Romanians and Bulgarians citizens ordered by the French government of President Nicolas Sarkozy. "The defence of human rights has no borders and it is not a fight to be fought just out there," said the Portuguese MEP. "Today we gave a good example of how to catch it as well indoors," she concluded.