Blogger Mohamed Abu Hajar was arrested on 14 March 2012 in the city of Tartus due to his writings on his blog entitled “Mazaj”.
(ANHRI/IFEX) – 18 March 2012 – ANHRI condemns the ongoing detention of journalists and activists by the Syrian authorities who arrested Mohamed Abu Hajar, Syrian blogger and rap singer, on 14 March 2012 in the city of Tartus because of his writings on his blog “Mazaj”.
Syrian security forces also arrested journalist Rody Othman on Al Hamra street in Damascus on 15 March 2012 while participating in the first anniversary of the outbreak of protests. It is worth noting that Othman has been arrested twice since the outbreak of protests, once on 8 April and once again on 27 May 2011.
It is clear that since the outbreak of protests last year, the Syrian forces have been targeting journalists in order to prevent them from publishing and spreading news about the crimes and violations of the forces of the dictator Bashar Al Assad against Syrian citizens.
“The arbitrary arrest and detention of activists is the Syrian regime’s way of preventing the world from witnessing its massacres in Syria,” said ANHRI.
“Freedom of opinion and expression in Syria are in great danger due to the ongoing violations perpetrated by the security forces and al-Assad’s army against Syrian protesters and activists,” added ANHRI.
ANHRI calls on the international and regional human rights organizations to continue to pressure the international community to release all detainees inside al-Assad’s detention centers.
