Movement For Justice and Development in Syria - Controversies

Controversies

The organisation was co-founded by Anas Al-Abdah (a.k.a. al-Abdeh ) and his brother Malik Al-Abdah, the former currently chairing it to date. While Anas Al-Abdah is also a signatory of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and secretary of the Damascus Declaration Support Committee in the UK, his brother Malik set up the London based Syrian opposition satellite channel Barada TV. There have been inconsistencies over the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights' leadership and an admission by them of some unvalidated and controversial reports, while Wikileaks cables have revealed US State Department funding of Barada TV. The closeness of the Movement for Justice and Development in Syria, Barada TV and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights by virtue of the high level administrative & family links at the level of the al-Abdeh brothers casts doubt over the neutrality of these Syrian opposition groups operating out of Western Europe.