A/HRC/24/29 Prison in Adra. While held, all five were allegedly subjected to inhuman treatment and were forced to endure extremely poor conditions of detention. 34. On 27 February 2013, the above-mentioned five individuals were reportedly charged with “promoting terrorist acts” by the investigative judge of the Anti-Terrorism Court in Damascus under article 8 of the Anti-Terrorism Law of 2012. It is alleged that the list of offences published by the investigative judge of the Court included “documenting the names of those detained, disappeared, wanted or killed” in the context of the Syrian conflict, “communicating with international organizations with the aim of having the international community condemn Syria” and “publishing studies on the human rights and media situation in Syria”. It appears that “communicating with international organizations with the aim of having the international community condemn Syria” may relate to, inter alia, the granting of consultative status to the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression by the Economic and Social Council in 2010 and the organization’s subsequent cooperation with various United Nations human rights mechanisms. It is reported that Mr. Alhamade and Mr. Al-Omari were released pending trial.23 35. As I pointed out in a report submitted to the Security Council,24 the monitoring and reporting work of the United Nations Supervision Mission in the Syrian Arab Republic (UNSMIS), established by the Council by its resolution 2043 (2012), was hampered by the stated perception of some Syrian civilians that they risked retaliation by government forces following interaction with UNSMIS. In this context, particularly during the latter stages of its deployment, the Mission documented at least one occasion on which local civilians were explicitly threatened by government security forces and ordered not to speak to United Nations observers, while on other occasions, civilians, including some seeking treatment in hospitals, specifically indicated they would not speak to observers out to fear of government retaliation. In addition, some individuals claimed to have been detained days after having interacted with UNSMIS. UNSMIS also reported a number of incidents where its personnel were requested not to visit specific towns or villages because of perceived security risks and the implications for the civilian population. Another issue of concern with regard to visits conducted by UNSMIS was the reported fear of some communities located in opposition-controlled areas that they would be shelled after UNSMIS observers concluded patrols in a nearby area. 11. Tajikistan 36. Attention has also been drawn to the closing of the Association of Young Lawyers of Tajikistan (Amparo), a leading organization that provides free legal aid, human rights education and training, following a decision of the Khujand City Court of 24 October 2012. 37. Amparo had been actively engaged with United Nations human rights mechanisms, particularly on issues relating to torture and ill-treatment. This engagement included the recent participation by some of its members in the preparation by the Coalition against Torture of a non-governmental report submitted to the Committee against Torture before the consideration of the second periodic report of Tajikistan by the Committee on 7 and 8 November 2012. Members of Amparo also met with the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment during his official visit to the country in May 2012, to provide him with information on the prevalence of abuse of recruits and the practice of hazing in the military. 23 24 See also General Assembly resolution 67/262, para. 5. S/2012/523, para. 55. 11