The attached 3 October 1996 letter received from the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania in Brooklyn, New York, provides information on the number of Jehovah's Witnesses in Syria and gives a statement on military exemptions for Jehovah's Witnesses in Syria. The facsimile also provides historical information on the treatment of Jehovah's Witnesses in Syria. Further information on the above-mentioned topic could not be found among the sources consulted by the DIRB.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, Brooklyn, New York. 3 October 1996. Facsimile sent to the DIRB.

Amnesty International. Yearly. Amnesty International Report. New York: Amnesty International.

Amnesty International reports and communiqués.

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1995. 1996. United States Department of State. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office.

Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports.

Material from the Indexed Media Review (IMR) or country files containing articles and reports from diverse sources (primarily dailies and periodicals) from the Weekly Media Review.

On-line searches of news articles.

United Nations High Comissionner for Refugees (UNHCR) databases (Refworld).

World Wide Web Sites (Internet).