(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has protested over the detention of cyber-dissident Abdel Rahman Shagouri. He has been held without trial for the past seven months in what is the first known case of the jailing of a cyber-dissident in Syria. Shagouri was arrested on 23 February 2003 at a checkpoint near the Syrian capital, Damascus, for […]
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has protested over the detention of cyber-dissident Abdel Rahman Shagouri. He has been held without trial for the past seven months in what is the first known case of the jailing of a cyber-dissident in Syria.
Shagouri was arrested on 23 February 2003 at a checkpoint near the Syrian capital, Damascus, for sending an e-mail newsletter from the banned website http://www.thisissyria.net (Levant News). He is being held in solitary confinement in Saidnaya prison, near Damascus, waiting to appear before the Supreme State Security Court.
Shagouri was reportedly tortured in detention and RSF is concerned about his health. “We urge Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, to immediately release Shagouri,” RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard said. “The Syrian head of state is an enthusiast of new technologies. Moreover, he was previously head of the Syrian Computer Association. We therefore wish to remind President Assad that there cannot be any sustainable development of the Internet without respect for freedom of expression,” he added.
Shagouri is married and is the father of two children. He lives in Birajam, a village near the Syrian capital. According to Amnesty International, his house was searched on the day of his arrest. Secret police reportedly also confiscated his computer, CD-ROMs and other computer equipment.
According to information obtained by RSF, Shagouri was tortured during his detention in the Syrian military secret services’ “Palestinian section”, where he allegedly suffered a serious head injury. He is still being held in solitary confinement and has not been allowed to hire a lawyer.
Shagouri was scheduled to go on trial before the Supreme State Security Court in December. The military court’s decisions cannot be challenged on appeal. He faces a jail sentence of eight to 12 years.
The cyber-dissident reportedly sent the daily newsletter of Levant News via e-mail. The banned website, which was inaccessible from Syria earlier in 2003, posts political news, notably reports about Syrian political prisoners.
Obeida Nahas, the website’s publisher, told RSF that several other websites are censored in Syria. Access to http://www.Hotmail.com was temporarily suspended in 2003.
