GENEVA - The Alkarama Foundation has chosen Dr. Aida Saif Al-Dawla from Egypt and Dr. Said Bin Zair from Saudi Arabia as the 2011 Alkarama Award laureates. Every December, as part of the International Human Rights Day (10 December), the award is presented to one or more human rights defenders in recognition of a lifelong dedication to the promotion and protection of human rights in the Arab world.

This year's laureates will jointly receive the Award at a public ceremony on 6 December at the Geneva International Conference Center.

The laureates

Yahya Al-Shurbaji, a 33-year old Syrian human rights defender was arrested on 6 September 2011 in Sahnaya, in the Damascus countryside following a car chase by agents of the Damascus Intelligence Service. Mr Al-Shurbaji and his friend Ghayath Mattar were victim of an ambush: they went together to the Al Mazza Military Airport believing that Mr Al-Shurbaji's brother, who is detained there, was injured and needed an ambulance. Given the facts of the case, Alkarama was seized of the case.

Civil society has the opportunity to provide information on the human rights situation in Kuwait when the country is examined by the United Nations Human Rights Committee (HRCttee) in October 2011. The Committee will review whether Kuwait is respecting the civil and political rights of its citizens.

Morocco will be reviewed by the Committee against Torture (also known as CAT) in early November 2011. This is an opportunity for civil society to raise any issues they may have with the Moroccan authorities regarding torture, as the United Nations human rights body will examine the situation of torture in the country closely.

Following complaints about prison conditions which Mr Mikhlif Al Shammari, a 56 year old human rights defender from Saudi Arabia, sent to the Director General of prisons in Saudi Arabia, he was taken from his cell by prison guards on 27 July 2011 and subjected to severe torture including threats to his life followed by an attempt to kill him.

Alkarama today submitted information about

The report of the Fact Finding

Bilal Abu Haikal, a 24 year old Lebanese student, has been held in Saudi Arabia since 18 July 2009, yet was never brought before a judge during the first 18 months of his detention. When he was presented to a judge in early February of this year, he was sentenced without a trial to two years in prison, in clear violation of internationals norms for a fair trial. Despite having served this 2 year term which ended on 28 June 2011, Abu Haikal remains detained in Al Hayr Prison in Saudi Arabia with no legal justification.

Ziad Ramadan, the Syrian man detained more than 6 years ago by the Syrian authorities who accused him of being implicated in the assassination of Rafik Hariri, remains detained despite having served his entire 6 year sentence and despite the call made by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention last November for his release.