Justice for Life organization interviewed the Mr. Ghazwan Ghdair, who is a survivor of government shelling on Al Hamideya neighborhood on September 17th 2012, and documented his testimony about the death of Abdulrahman Mashhour.
Photo of Abdulrahman Mirae Al Mashhour
Introduction
Abdulrahman Mirae Al Mashhour was born in 1986 in Deir Ezzor. He studied in Education College at Al Furat University in Deir Ezzor and graduated in 2007. He tried to travel to Egypt to continue his Master, but the Syrian authorities prevented him. He kept trying until he gained the travel approval, however, the public uprising against the Syrian government started, so Abdulrahman had decided to stay in Syria and join the uprising.
Before the Uprising
Abdulrhaman, or Abboud as his friends liked to call him, with a couple of young men from Deir Ezzor started implementing activities in 2007 against the Syrian authorities. Ghazwan, another activist with Abdulrahamn said “ We were sharing articles that were prohibited in Syria. Those activities were practiced secretly. In 2010, our group was monitored by the Syrian security apparatuses. Some of the group activists were captured including me. Abdulrahman was a fugitive for a while until he could solve the problem by making use of the corruption in the Syrian security apparatuses”.
After the Uprising
As the demonstrations started in Bab Amr and the families started to be displaced from Homs province towards Deir Ezzor, Ghazwan talks about the activities that were practiced by Abdulrahman and his friends “Abdulrahman and his friends received many displaced families and provided them with their basic needs. This exposed Abdulrahman to be fugitive again, however, they could not capture him”.
Following the second invasion of Deir Ezzor by the government forces on July 21st 2012 – the first one was on August 10th 2011- military factions emerged by the locals of the province and defectors from the government forces. Fighting against these forces started. The security forces along with the military forces started to pursue the revolution activists, especially the instigators. Ghazwan adds “Many services that were provided by public institutions stopped due to those fights. A group of young men in Deir Ezzor, including Abdulrahman started collecting wastes from the neighbourhoods held by the armed opposition faction along with buying medicine and provide those in need. Moreover, as schools stopped, they opened a school in those neighbourhoods along with providing aid to some families”.
During Fights in Deir Ezzor
Ghazwan says “Abdulrahman and a group of activists in Deir Ezzor tried keep the civilian movement and not to leave the stage for the military factions only in the revolution against the Syrian authority. They insisted that it is needed to achieve the uprising goals not only by military means, but also throughput the civilian practices which should be main track. Some factions committed some violations in the neighborhoods that controlled by them. This forced this group to activate their activities more to face these violations. The group started organizing demonstrations on periodic basis in those neighborhoods”.
Injury and Death of Abdulrahman
Ghazwan narrates the details of injury and death of Abdulrahman “In the time of demonstrations in the armed opposition factions held neighborhoods, the artillery of the Syrian government forces was erected on the mountain in front of the city and started shelling the residential neighborhoods and lead to displacement of thousands of civilians”.
Photo of Abdulrahman Mirae Al Mashhour after his death by a shrapnel in his stomach.
Ghazwan adds “ On September 17th 2012, We were, me and Abdulrahman, with a group of demonstrators in the area nearby Mousab mosque in Al Hamideyya neighborhood, which is a distant area from the fighting zones and there were no military headquarters in it. A shell launched by the artillery of the positioned forces on the mountain and resulted in injury of Abdulrahman along with two demonstrators”.
“The shelling was indiscriminate and intensive, I moved him to an entrance of a building until the shelling level decreased, then I hospitalized him to Al Said hospital. He was entered to the surgery operations room. The surgeons were able to drive a 10cm shrapnel out of his stomach. His injury was critical and led to his death after the operation” he adds.
Ghazwan ends his testimony “I could not stay in Deir Ezzor after the death of Abboud, so I decided to leave for months. There is a must to have a trial against the killers of Abboud by local or international courts, without such trial, there will be a desire by many people whose rights were violated to have revenge. This means that there will be no stability in Syria without accountability”.
To commemorate Abdulrahman Al Mashhour, a school and a medical point were named by his name.
