Cyber-dissident Habib Saleh released after 27 months in detention
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF hails the 12 September 2007 release of writer and cyber-dissident Habib Saleh after 27 months in detention. He was freed by a military court in the city of Homs in response to a petition from his lawyer, Ibrahim Melki, under a law that allows prisoners to be released on completing three-quarters of […]
Outspoken promoter of democratic reform denied right to travel for urgently needed medical care
(HRinfo/IFEX) – On 14 August 2007, HRinfo urged the Syrian government to allow former MP Ryad Seif to leave the country to seek medical care. Seif was diagnosed with cancer two months before and has not received any medication due to the lack of it in Syria. Seif was a former prisoner of conscience, detained […]
Iraqi journalist detained, beaten, expelled from country
(HRinfo/IFEX) – On 9 August 2007, HRinfo called for the Syrian government to conduct a fair and honest investigation concerning the assault against Iraqi journalist Saif al-Khayat, who suffered serious violations at the hands of Syrian Political Security Forces before he was ordered to leave Syria in mid-June 2007. Al-Khayat had traveled to Syria to […]
Dissident journalist Michel Kilo sentenced to three years in jail
(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders has voiced outrage over the three-year prison term imposed 13 May 2007 on journalist and writer Michel Kilo for “weakening national sentiment”. Another dissident, Mahmud Issa, also got a three-year jail term. “There is something seriously wrong with a justice system that imposes long jail terms on anyone who dares […]
Peaceful activist gets 12 years with hard labour as government accelerates crackdown on free speech
(HRW/IFEX) – The following is a Human Rights watch press release: Syria: Peaceful Activist Gets 12 Years With Hard Labor Labwani’s Sentence Discredits Syrian Claims of Political Reform (New York, May 10, 2007) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should immediately exonerate prominent human rights activist Dr. Kamal al-Labwani, who was sentenced today to 12 years […]
Imprisoned human rights lawyer ill-treated, fined for membership in unlicenced human rights centre
(HRW/IFEX) – The following is a 25 April 2007 Human Rights Watch press release: Syria: Harsh Sentence for Prominent Rights Lawyer Anwar al-Bunni Gets Five Years for Expressing Opinion (New York, April 25, 2007) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should immediately order the release of a prominent human rights lawyer who was sentenced to five […]
Human rights lawyer sentenced to five-year prison term for signing joint statement
(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders condemned the five-year prison sentence imposed by the Damascus criminal court on 24 April 2007 on lawyer and human rights activist Anwar Al-Bunni for signing a joint statement calling for better relations with Lebanon. Held for the past 11 months, he was found guilty of “disseminating false information weakening the […]
Kurdish cyber-dissident held in secret for nearly a week; two others still in prison
(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders has called for the immediate release of arrested human rights activist Ibrahim Zoro, who regularly posts material on foreign-based opposition websites. It noted that two other people were in prison in Syria for posting similar material. It said the state security service, whose agents arrested Zoro on 5 April 2007 […]
Outspoken political activist, imprisoned in inhumane conditions, faces possible life sentence for peacefully expressing opinions
(HRW/IFEX) – The following is a 7 April 2007 Human Rights Watch press release: Syria: Activist’s Trial Enters Final Stage Government Should Free Kamal al-Lawbwani (Cairo, April 7, 2007) – Syria should end the trial of human rights activist Kamal al-Labwani by releasing him and dismissing the politically motivated charges, Human Rights Watch said today. […]
Detained journalist charged in court with “weakening national sentiment”
(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders has condemned the three charges that were formally brought against detained writer and journalist Michel Kilo in a criminal court in Damascus on 26 March 2007 for signing the “Beirut-Damascus, Damascus-Beirut” joint statement in May 2006. The charges, punishable by at least three years in prison, are “weakening national sentiment,” […]
New charge brought against writer Michel Kilo under military law
(RSF/IFEX) – Detained journalist and writer Michel Kilo was taken before a military prosecutor in Damascus on 6 March 2007 and accused of inciting fellow inmates in Adra prison, near Damascus, to sign the “Beirut-Damascus, Damascus-Beirut” joint statement, which he himself signed in May 2006 and for which he is being prosecuted by a criminal […]
Cyber-dissident Ali Sayed al-Shihabi freed under presidential amnesty
(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders has hailed the release of academic and cyber-dissident Ali Sayed al-Shihabi on 9 January 2007 after five months in detention. Arrested on 10 August 2006 for articles posted on a far-left website, he was freed under a presidential amnesty marking the Muslim Eid celebrations. “We hope this pardon will open […]
Cyber-dissident Ali Sayed al-Shihabi held four months without trial, reportedly tortured during questioning
(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders has repeated its call for the release of cyber-dissident Ali Sayed al-Shihabi, who has been held for more than four months without trial in Adra prison, near Damascus. Security services arrested the 50-year-old English-professor on 10 August 2006 after he posted articles on far-left websites. He is being held in […]
Relatives of Syrian prisoners of conscience testify to abuses before French Parliament
(RSF/IFEX) – Relatives of two Syrian prisoners of conscience, journalist and writer Michel Kilo and lawyer and human rights activist Anwar Al Bunni, talked about their conditions of detention and the harassment of their families at a 14 November 2006 news conference at the French National Assembly. It was hosted by Green Party deputy Noël […]
Journalist Michel Kilo, lawyer Anwar Bunni and other political prisoners go on hunger strike
(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders has voiced deep concern about journalist and writer Michel Kilo, who began a hunger strike on 28 October 2006, along with lawyer Anwar Bunni and other political prisoners who were arrested in May after signing a joint statement calling for an improvement in relations with Lebanon. The hunger strike, which […]
Writer and journalist Michel Kilo remains jailed on trumped-up charges
(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders has accused Syria’s judicial authorities of bringing new, trumped-up charges against detained writer and journalist Michel Kilo in order to keep him in prison and avoid having to execute the provisional release order issued by a judge on 19 October 2006. “Michel Kilo was already facing life imprisonment,” the press […]